“Douchebags” In Court
Posted on November 19, 2008
By Joe Miller |
Two lawsuits have been filed on the question of whether publishing statements calling someone a “douchebag,” or that someone merely associates with such a person, is just rude, and not really something that anyone can legally do anything about, or whether it is something that is actionable under legal theories of libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, loss of goodwill, conspiracy to commit fraud, invasion of privacy, unfair competition, defamation, and humiliation.
In Las Vegas, club promoter Michael Minelli is suing the publisher, Simon and Schuster, and author of the website-turned-book, ”Hot Chicks with Douchebags,” the shtick of which is apparently to depict what the author, Jay Louis, believes to be geeks posing with nice-looking women. In the book, Louis writes that Minelli’s “popped-collar, spikey-haired presence was so far beyond regular douche, so far beyond uberdouche, he could spontaneously create a new element on the periodic tables — Douche Nine.”
But Minelli filed suit, stating that, as a result of the picture in the book, he has been subjected to ”hatred, contempt, and humiliation” by ”friends, acquaintances, coworkers, employees, and strangers alike” who now routinely call him a “douchebag.” Here’s the complaint.
2,500 miles west of Las Vegas, in Clifton, NJ (where, incidentally, several scenes from The Sopranos were filmed), Yvette Gorzelany, Joanna Obiedzinski, and Paulina Pakos were quite offended that anyone would ever possibly suggest that they would even come close to associating with “dubious men.” They promptly filed suit. THAT complaint is here.
Simon and Schuster claims that the Jersey women “can’t establish falsity” and that the “statements in the book are constitutionally protected opinion.”
LMAO!
Ahem, sorry.
