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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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March 18, 2007
Carol Burnett Can't Take a Joke
I suppose it would be considered "bad" to bring the pimp hand down on a 73 year old woman, but Carol Burnett is really begging for it. Specifically, she's filed a $6 million dollar lawsuit against Fox network over a Family Guy parody. Naturally, The Smoking Gun has the legal papers, and the offending half minute of video.
The boys walk into a porno shop, where "Carol Burnett" is working part time as a cleaning lady. There's a quick animated image of her signature charwoman character mopping up next to a bin of inflatable sex dolls, and maybe five seconds of music similar to her theme song. Heck, that's exceedingly mild for her to even be annoyed by. It's not like they were putting her charwoman in a porn movie or anything.
On that provocation though, Carol Burnett and her Whacko Inc are suing Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation for 1) copyright infringement, 2) violation of the Lanham act 3) statutory violation of right of publicity, and 4) common law misappropriation of name and likeness.
There are few things dumber than a comedian that can't take a joke. To cite the obvious point that Fox makes in its own defense, her decade plus variety show was mostly based on parodies of other tv shows and movies. But HER precious visage is too great a treasure to be subject to even a few seconds of gentle lampooning. Apparently she thinks that the First Amendment only gives you a right to make fun of people if they give you permission.
I don't even so much as play a lawyer on tv, but the famous Supreme Court case of Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988) would seem to be relevant. Basically, the court said 8-0 that you have a right to parody or satirize public figures, even if they get their feelings hurt. Or perhaps her esteemed attorneys will argue that this means you can lampoon celebrities, but you just can't mention their name or create any kind of drawing that looks like them to do it. How's that supposed to work?
But she's twisting all sideways and backwards looking for any other excuse to sue, and she comes up with some cheesy copyright claim. I frequently argue against modern copyright laws as corporate welfare, but this is worse. It's not just a greedhead wanting to milk a few extra bucks out of their old work, but someone attempting to use such laws as a club to silence people from making jokes they don't like. That's absolutely un-American.
But this is still America, and I find it difficult to believe this will get her anything but ridicule - which she's richly deserving for this stupidity. For starters, obviously this lawsuit will bring 100x more attention to the bit than it would otherwise have gotten. I for one would never have heard of it otherwise. Plus, this ridiculous lawsuit is pretty much an engraved invitation for further and harsher mockery.
Ol' girl's just BEGGING for South Park to give her one of their truly world class smackdowns. She'll WISH it was just the half-wits at Family Guy screwing with her. It'd serve her right.
posted by Al at 3/18/2007 08:33:00 PM
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