Culture

Larry Flynt's Official Response to Jerry Falwell's Death

by Kaitlin | May 16, 2007 at 09:13 am

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Who would Luke Skywalker be without Darth Vader? What would Harry be without Voldemort? Dorothy without her Wicked Witch of the West? The publisher of Hustler magazine without the leader of the religious right that challenged him?

Good and evil being matters of personal judgment in this case (whether you err on the side of smut or free speech), there's no denying that the fabric of our culture was forever changed by the clash of Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell (Flynt once published a piece of satire in Hustler alleging that Falwell lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse). Without their meeting, the landmark Supreme Court case that determined the contemporary state of the First Amendment would not have happened. And without the existence of each man and his particularly public beliefs, we would not have the same landscape of political commentary as we do today. Without Falwell vs. Flynt, there may be no vocal religious right vs. liberal left on TV. There may be no Hannity or O'Reilly. And, conversely, there may be no Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Flynt vs. Falwell opened the doors for discourse that we enjoy today--for better or for worse. Consider that, and then read Flynt's response to Falwell's death, below.

"The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in."

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Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:21 on May 16th, 2007

The framing of this article is stellar. Indeed, Falwell's legacy may not be what he said, but the platform on which he said it.

Kaitlin

at 08:34 on May 16th, 2007

I should mention, as well...Flynt doesn't exactly fit under the "liberal left" banner...he's fairly right-thinking in some things. But there is a divide nonetheless. And it is the contradictory nature of Flynt that makes him so fascinating.