Australia: Sir Elton John - Ridiculed But Not Defamed

Originally Published On 24^th December 2008

Recently the High Court of Justice in London handed down a ruling in favour of The Guardian newspaper that furthers the protection afforded to writers of satirical articles from defamation claims.

Sir Elton John commenced proceedings against The Guardian for libel after it published a spoof article in July 2008 written by Marina Hyde. The article, "A peek into the diary of Sir Elton John" recorded his fictional thoughts about his AIDS charity ball.

Counsel for Sir Elton alleged the article ridiculed his client's commitment to the AIDS charity and suggested that Sir Elton saw the ball as an opportunity for self-promotion and meeting celebrities rather than helping people. The Guardian denied the allegations and pleaded, as an alternative defence, "fair comment".

Justice Tugendhat struck out Sir Elton's claim after finding that the words complained of were not capable of bearing the alleged meanings. His Honour stated that the meaning of the words depended upon their context, and that because the article appeared in the weekend section of the newspaper, it was not to be regarded as a "hard news" piece. Although the attribution of the words by the journalist to Sir Elton was literally false, it was found that no reasonable reader could have been be misled.

Journalists will no doubt welcome Justice Tugendhat's finding that the article was little more than an exercise in irony. This is to be compared with the situation where the joke might not be readily apparent or malice is involved (see our last eAlert, "Olympian wins substantial damages for defamation" click here).

In Australia, both the common law and the statutory "triviality defence" deter people from bringing frivolous defamation claims. A defamation action will be unsuccessful if the defendant can prove that the circumstances of publication were such that the plaintiff was unlikely to sustain any real harm.

Light hearted "teasing" of Sir Elton in Australia would be likely to attract such a defence, although it is always wise to seek pre-publication advice before going to print.

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