Elton John Loses Libel Case, Guardian Declares "Victory For Irony"

UK paper The Guardian proclaimed "A Victory For Irony" after a UK judge ruled against Elton John in his libel case against the paper:

Sir Elton John is well known for his quick temper and outrageous behaviour. A documentary of his life said it all - it was called, knowingly, Tantrums and Tiaras.

But a high court judge ruled yesterday that the singer's sense of humour failure over a satirical piece by a Guardian columnist was a tantrum too far.

In a groundbreaking libel decision, the judge said that "irony" and "teasing" do not amount to defamation. The ruling offers protection to writers of satirical articles clearly not meant to be taken seriously and was welcomed last night by media lawyers and journalists.

The Guardian was awarded costs and the singer, who brought the action, was refused leave to appeal by Mr Justice Tugendhat. John's legal team indicated that he might now seek leave to appeal.

In July, the paper printed a fake diary by Elton John, written by Marina Hyde, which contained the following:

What a few days it's been. First I sang Happy Birthday to my dear, dear friend Nelson Mandela - I like to think I'm one of the few people privileged enough to call him Madiba - at a party specially organised to provide white celebrities with a chance to be photographed cuddling him, wearing that patronisingly awestruck smile they all have. It says: "I love you, you adorable, apartheid-fighting teddy bear."

The next night I welcomed the exact same crowd to my place for my annual White Tie & Tiaras ball. Lulu, Kelly Osbourne, Agyness Deyn, Richard Desmond, Liz Hurley, Bill Clinton - I met most of them 10 minutes ago, but we have something very special and magical in common: we're all members of the entertainment industry. You can't manufacture a connection like that.

Hyde wrote in The Guardian this weekend, thanking the judge for "the most civilised of rulings." She continued:

We British have a rich tradition of irony and satire but there is very little case law protecting what may well turn out to be one of the few comforts left to us in these darkening times.

Comments

[SEQUOIABISON]

Elton John, an incredible musical genius with a petulant erasable personality. Sometimes we just have to accept the temperamental testy behavior of our entertainers, it frequently goes with the territory. If we try to change the unpredictable part of Elton's personality it might change the whole dynamic of why and how he produces such masterpieces of music.

[LeeCalif]

This picture of Elton kinda looks like a mix of a couple different SouthPark characters.

[vagabondstory]

grow up elton, who cares
http://www.vagabondstory.com

[oafishcad]

Elton needs to get over himself.

[jarotra]

A painful but not mortal blow to the gay mafia.

[oafishcad]

Gay Mafia? How many people have they killed? They have so much power they aren't even considered full citizens in California.

[CaroleK1970]

I am suing Elton because I have heard 'Candle In The Wind' at least 150,000 times too many.

[booboo111]

Good one!

[DLSteinhardt]

The last eight years have again demonstrated--in this era via the Daily Show, Colbert, Tom Tomorrow, Kathy Griffin, Chris Rock, and countless others--that satire is the essential element that allows societies to shake loose of government, religious and "good manners" rules, all of which are intended to quiet voices that need more public space, not less.

Irrepressible laughter sparked by master satirists is the proof that the suppression of dissent stifles the soul. Stifle satire and society sickens quickly.

Ol' Reg should really know better. It wasn't much more than a century ago that Oscar Wilde, vainly and stupidly, threw away the rest of his life by falsely suing for libel. I smell the faint stench of Bosie's perfume around Sir Elton for having attempted to create such a dangerous precedent in British law.

!

[Pronto]

Maybe Elton can sue for the article having taken away his rock star "look".

[BSERIUS]

Yikes... you could put pix of Elton ,Olbermann and Franken side by side by side..You would also get the same personalities and egos.

[gascelebrations]

That's like comparing a rhinoceros, a waddling penguin, and a large, flamboyant, strutting flamingo.

[inluvwkeitholbermann]

BLEEP YOU, BSERIUS!!!

[BSERIUS]

Sorry , didn't mean to insult Elton

[petecook5]

he looks terrible

[moreupnorth]

Yeah. He's got that stunned kind of look going on. Same kind of look my kids get on their faces when they don't get their way either!

[davidly]

He needs to get his priorities straight. Playing in Philip Anschutz's O2 Arena shouldn't be one of them. The word hypocrite comes to mind.

[hopefull2008]

I agree with Lilly Allen.

[romber58]

I must say that it would seem that Reg lost his sense of humour for a while in bringing this case,Either that or the article touched a raw nerve,The other possibility is that his lawers brought this to court on his behalf while he was busy doing other things.

[Metoyer]

Undeniable talent; a huge force in 1970s rock. Can't think of any composers who maintain a genius level output for more than a decade.

[gascelebrations]

Are you serious? You have very low standards for "huge force" and "genius level output". The man hasn't recorded anything enjoyable in 30 years. Even then, without Bernie Taupin, he would be selling carpets by now.

[JGC1010]

Selling carpets...instead of wearing them?

[PuddyKatz]

I say, that's no way to treat the queen!