Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
United States Supreme Court
485 U.S. 46 (1988)
Hustler Magazine published a parody advertisement suggesting nationally known minister and political commentator Jerry Falwell (plaintiff) and his mother were drunk and immoral; a jury rejected Falwell's libel claim, finding the parody couldn't reasonably be understood as asserting actual facts about him, but the district court still awarded Falwell $200,000 on his separate intentional-infliction-of-emotional-distress claim against Hustler and its publisher, Larry Flynt (defendants), and the court of appeals affirmed.
Whether a public figure may recover damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress caused by a parody or satire, without a showing that the parody contained a false statement of fact made with actual malice.