Glenn Beck has become the new Bill O’Reilly in recent years, which is to say he’s a right-wing opinion-show host so demented in his words and actions that people outside of the States know who he is. Kiwi readers will know him from Daily Show ads as the guy who says something like, “Even if it’s wrong, believe in something.”
Recent exploits include praising Radiohead Muse’s new album, claiming that Muse representatives asked him to retract his endorsement, then Muse representatives claiming they never did such a thing, leaving Beck claiming it was all a bit of a joke.
And that’s fine. Who can’t take a joke?
Well, Glenn Beck, apparently. Some enterprising fellow has decided to parody Beck’s “prove you’re innocent” style of accusation in a website called Did Glenn Beck Rape and Murder a Young Girl in 1990? (dot com). Mr Beck’s legal team are trying to get it taken down, but because it’s clearly satire – which is protected in US law (and not in NZ law) – there’s no way they’d manage it domestically. Anyone who’s seen The People v Larry Flynt will be aware of the precedent-setting case of Jerry Falwell’s complaints of satire making fun of him.
So instead, Beck’s legal team is appealing to international law to circumvrent US law in getting the site taken down.
The satirist’s response is classic. Here’s an excerpt:
There is no indication that the Respondent has intentionally attempted to confuse anyone searching for Mr. Beck’s own website, nor that anyone was unintentionally confused – even initially. Only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant.
Sorry, Mr Beck. It seems that when you’re a bit of a dick to people, you get called on it.
Ryan Sproull is a freelance writer and creative,
a champagne anarchist, was editor of Craccum in '06, and is really quite an awful fellow. 