Saturday Night Live to Sue Newt Gingrich For Slander

October 24, 2008 · Filed Under 2008 Election, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Kind of Satire, Sarah Palin 

In response to former Senate House Speaker, Newt Gingrich saying that “Saturday Night Live skits were slander and worthy of a lawsuit,” SNL Executive Producer, Lorne Michaels said the show is seriously considering a counter suit claiming that Gingrich has “slandered the SNL brand causing it great loss of future income.”

“We have spent over thirty years developing the SNL brand of satire, “said Michaels.  “And now we have someone of such eminent respect claiming we are distorting rather than satirizing.  That’s Fox News’s job, not ours.”

On Thursday evening’s Greta Van Susteren show on Fox News, Gingrich said “Saturday Night Live skits, some of which I think were slander and worthy of a lawsuit.  I think the American people should realize that the elite media on the left is so desperate to elect Barack Obama that the view they’re giving you of Sarah Palin is fundamentally a falsehood.”

“First of all, if any show dealing with satire wanted anyone to be elected, it would be Palin,” said Michaels.  “Have you ever tried writing humor on Obama?  With Palin, we’re out of here by mid-afternoon everyday.”

A Gingrich spokesman said the Michaels’ threat won’t defer Gingrich from following through with legal action. 

“First of all we can’t be sure if Michaels’ threat is satire or fact,”said Gingrich attorney, Roger Ailes.  “Secondly the Speaker feels very strongly that the founding fathers would not have stood for excuses of satire to justify jokes at the expense of government officials.  I don’t think that’s what our Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he entrusted us with freedom of speech.”

Gingrich also revealed that “to stop spinning political fabrications,” he would also being suing Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, The Onion, National Lampoon, the Jonathon Swift estate and Bill O’Reilly.

“These jokers cannot can not keep getting away with mocking the truth as I want it to be.”

Developing

Steve

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Comments

3 Responses to “Saturday Night Live to Sue Newt Gingrich For Slander”

  1. Orion on October 24th, 2008 1:36 pm

    It tain’t funny, but the ole Eft (a baby newt) sounds like an unAmerican Palinistic Mao, Joe Stalin or Vlad, who eyes read by Bush said were the most honest, sincere, kindest, wonderful eyes he ever done saw.

  2. Chip Keyes on October 24th, 2008 5:17 pm

    As the little red Republican wagon continues losing wheels as it careens out of control, satire becomes almost indistinguishable from reality. One can only hope it will devolve into burlesque.

  3. Nasim Pedrad Fan on September 27th, 2009 3:52 pm

    The idea that Gingrich couldn’t recognize whether Michaels was messing with him or not cracks me up.

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