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Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Story La

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[T]he court now arrives at the heart of this issue: does falsely reporting that a person is transgender have a natural tendency to injury [sic] one’s reputation?” the judge’s tentative ruling read. “This court finds that because courts have long held that a misidentification of certain immutable characteristics do not naturally tend to injure one’s reputation, even if there is sizeable portion of the population who hold prejudices against those characteristics, misidentification of a person as transgender is not actionable defamation absent special damages.”

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment...-Simmons-Ordered-to-Pay-National-12219069.php

Ok, here's what I find interesting about this, well, there's a couple of things. First off is that Richard Simmons hardly seems one to be antagonistic to the LGBT community while the Enquirer doesn't seem especially sensitive to it but it's like Simmons is the intolerant bad guy. It seems the reasoning here is that being intentionally labeled as transgender is not something Simmons should really object to and he's so wrong to sue over this, he has to pay attorney fees. Don't get me wrong, it's extremely difficult for public figures to prevail on such lawsuits and this may well be the absolute right result, but I wonder if it's for the right reason.

Also, this comes at a time when there's more and more of a push to punish people for "misgendering" trans people. It makes me wonder if the results would have been the same had the National Enquirer repeatedly referred to a trans person as their birth gender.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Probably should have made this some sort of a poll. :lol:
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Is this the case where the decision rests in part on an assumption that it even if in reality it is damaging to be labeled "trans" publicly because people suck, it's better for the court not to recognize that fact?





People subject to bathroom laws might disagree, among other things.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Hard to really form an opinion.. Richard is well known and often questioned about his sexuality. If this was a none famous person would the ruling be the same. Justice us supposed to be blind but it's not. It was run in a tabloid rag. I better test would be can CNN run a story claiming Melania is a tranny or Fox that Chelsea is one and get the same outcome.
As for her or him being misused I try to be considerate of people but if somehow a law got passed and upheld I would break it out of principal.


Side Note: Last I saw Richard was close to hermit status and battling depression
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Hard to really form an opinion.. Richard is well known and often questioned about his sexuality. If this was a none famous person would the ruling be the same. Justice us supposed to be blind but it's not. It was run in a tabloid rag. I better test would be can CNN run a story claiming Melania is a tranny or Fox that Chelsea is one and get the same outcome.
As for her or him being misused I try to be considerate of people but if somehow a law got passed and upheld I would break it out of principal.


Side Note: Last I saw Richard was close to hermit status and battling depression

As was shown in the Sarah Palin case recently, the media is under no obligation to tell the truth.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Is this the case where the decision rests in part on an assumption that it even if in reality it is damaging to be labeled "trans" publicly because people suck, it's better for the court not to recognize that fact?


People subject to bathroom laws might disagree, among other things.

I don't know, exactly, but but the crappy reasoning sounds similar.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

As was shown in the Sarah Palin case recently, the media is under no obligation to tell the truth.

Have they ever been?
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer?s Legal Fees in Transgender Story Lawsuit - SFGate

Ok, here's what I find interesting about this, well, there's a couple of things. First off is that Richard Simmons hardly seems one to be antagonistic to the LGBT community while the Enquirer doesn't seem especially sensitive to it but it's like Simmons is the intolerant bad guy. It seems the reasoning here is that being intentionally labeled as transgender is not something Simmons should really object to and he's so wrong to sue over this, he has to pay attorney fees. Don't get me wrong, it's extremely difficult for public figures to prevail on such lawsuits and this may well be the absolute right result, but I wonder if it's for the right reason.

Also, this comes at a time when there's more and more of a push to punish people for "misgendering" trans people. It makes me wonder if the results would have been the same had the National Enquirer repeatedly referred to a trans person as their birth gender.

Simmons was just minding his own business bothering no one (Seeing almost no one from the way I hear it) and this rag started telling lies about him....This is not OK, and then the courts go and do what they so often do, rule incorrectly.

SAD
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

Hard to really form an opinion.. Richard is well known and often questioned about his sexuality. If this was a none famous person would the ruling be the same. Justice us supposed to be blind but it's not. It was run in a tabloid rag. I better test would be can CNN run a story claiming Melania is a tranny or Fox that Chelsea is one and get the same outcome.
As for her or him being misused I try to be considerate of people but if somehow a law got passed and upheld I would break it out of principal.


Side Note: Last I saw Richard was close to hermit status and battling depression

When was the last time Simmons was questioned about his sexuality?

Is there anybody breathing that does not know he is gay?
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

I don't see why a simpler answer for this kind of tabloid trash printing outright lies in the guise of "news" would be criminal charges for fraud and false advertising. It's what would happen to any other company deliberately selling a product that doesn't do what they claim it does.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

I don't see why a simpler answer for this kind of tabloid trash printing outright lies in the guise of "news" would be criminal charges for fraud and false advertising. It's what would happen to any other company deliberately selling a product that doesn't do what they claim it does.

In that case, though, the claim would have to come from the consumer of the product.

A more analogous situation might be companies suing makers of knockoffs or a brand going after someone who intentionally posts false negative reviews of their products.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

In that case, though, the claim would have to come from the consumer of the product.
That's why I suggested it should be a criminal offence rather than a civil one. It's not just about individual customers, it's a case of regulating a fundamentally corrupt industry.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

As was shown in the Sarah Palin case recently, the media is under no obligation to tell the truth.

No they are under obligation to tell the truth.
They are not allowed to knowingly print incorrect
,lies or malicious material.

See the First Ladies law suit that she won when a paper said she was a call girl.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

No they are under obligation to tell the truth.
They are not allowed to knowingly print incorrect
,lies or malicious material.

See the First Ladies law suit that she won when a paper said she was a call girl.

I know the UK paper paid, but I don't know about the NY Times, since AFAIK they reprinted.
 
Re: Richard Simmons Ordered to Pay National Enquirer’s Legal Fees in Transgender Stor

I know the UK paper paid, but I don't know about the NY Times, since AFAIK they reprinted.

That was the deciding factor. The retracted and reprinted.
 
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