Elton John loses libel case

Elton John lost a court case after saying he was defamed by a British newspaper.

The story said that Elton used a foundation he is a part of merely as a way of self-promotion. The story held a satirical take on it, which offended Elton.

Michael Tugendhat, high court justice said that irony "is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used ... . The attribution is literally false but no reasonable reader could be misled by it."

I could only assume that in America we would treat it as if it were a parody.

LONDON, Dec. 13 (UPI) --
Elton John was not defamed by a British newspaper that offered a satirical take of the rock singer, a High Court judge has ruled.
High Court Justice Michael Tugendhat found that while The Guardian did offer a satirical column about the Crocodile Rock singer, the article did not amount to libel and the court's ruling was not subject to appeal, the newspaper reported Saturday.
Marina Hyde's July literary offering, A peek at the diary of Sir Elton John, prompted the knighted British singer to file his libel suit against the publication.
The singer alleged the article questioned his commitment to the Elton John Aids Foundation and accused him of using related events as self-promotion opportunities.
But Tugendhat wrote his judgment that the article and its featured attribution were clearly not meant to inflict harm, but rather use irony to entertain.
The transparently false attribution is irony, Tugendhat said. Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used ... . The attribution is literally false but no reasonable reader could be misled by it. Copyright 2008 by United Press InternationalAll Rights Reserved.