By: HISTORY.com Editors

1988

Supreme Court defends right to satirize public figures

HISTORY.com Editors

Published: February 09, 2010Last Updated: May 28, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court votes 8-0 to overturn the $200,000 settlement awarded to the Reverend Jerry Falwell for his emotional distress at being parodied in Hustler, a pornographic magazine.

Freedom of Speech

What is free speech? How does the freedom of speech factor in to the U.S. Constitution? What are limitations and protections of free speech in the U.S.?

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In 1983, Hustler ran a piece parodying Falwell’s first sexual experience as a drunken, incestuous, childhood encounter with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell, a religious conservative and founder of the Moral Majority political advocacy group, sued Hustler and its publisher, Larry Flynt, for libel. Falwell won the case, but Flynt appealed, leading to the Supreme Court’s hearing the case because of its constitutional implications.

In February 1988, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the lower court’s decision, ruling that, although in poor taste, Hustler‘s parody fell within the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech and the press.

Timeline

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Citation Information

Article Title: Supreme Court defends right to satirize public figures
Author: HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name: History
URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-24/supreme-court-defends-right-to-satirize-public-figures

Date Accessed: August 20, 2026
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: May 28, 2025
Original Published Date: February 09, 2010