Pring v. Penthouse International, Ltd.

695 F.2d 438 (1983)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

An English professor, (Cioffari (D)), wrote a story published in Penthouse (D). It was written about a 'Charlene,' a Miss Wyoming at the Miss America contest. The story has the baton twirling Charlene performing fellatio on a football player which causes him to levitate. This fellatio levitation is then thought to be the key to saving the world. The story has Charlene going on stage to perform the baton twirling but instead performs a fellatio-like act on her baton which stops the orchestra. During the finals, her thought were that she would 'save the world' with her real talent with the 'entire Soviet Central Committee to prevent a Third World War? Marshall Tito? Fidel Castro?' She would be the ambassador of love and peace. The story then describes an act of fellatio with her coach at the edge of the stage while the audience was applauding the new Miss America in center stage. This fellatio causes the levitation of her coach. It is described that the television cameras were not on the new Miss America but 'remained' on Charlene and her coach who was then rising into the air, and the story ends. P sued Ds for defamation. P claimed the story implied that she had done sexual acts which she had not. Ds argued that the story is a spoof of the contest, ridicule, an attempt to be humorous, 'black humor,' a complete fantasy which could not be taken literally. P got the verdict and Ds appealed.