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You might not remember Denial, the 2016 dramatic adaptation of Deborah Lipstadt's excellent book, History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier. It’s another one of those projects that reviewers describe as “more timely than ever,” the 1990s-era story of a Holocaust denier who sued Lipstadt for describing him as a Holocaust denier in one of her earlier books. Sounds dry, but it’s pretty engrossing! (And available on Amazon Prime, if you’re interested.)
And we do need some entertainment, now that we won’t get to watch Dominion Voting Systems and Fox battle it out in court. The $787.5 million settlement the broadcast network agreed to (with moments to spare) is a jaw-dropping figure, and suggests that Fox knew it stood to lose far more if the case moved forward. I am sure Ryan Murphy is already pitching it (American Crime Story: Libel?) to a room of execs grateful they have jobs anywhere but Fox today.
The settlement made Sarah and me start thinking about other defamation cases we’ve followed and enjoyed over the years: I think about Tom Cruise’s so-called “gay lawsuit” all the time (um, no reason); while the flurry of suits filed by conservative politician Devin Nunes reminds me a lot of that Denial case. And, y’all, Wagatha Christie was just so fun. That case’s adaptation, Vardy v. Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, is available on BritBox, and I’ve been meaning to bogart a username and password from someone so I can pop and bottle and settle in to watch.
Now I’ll turn it over to you. What libel/slander/defamation cases have you been engrossed by over the years? What defamation-focused books, podcasts, documentaries, and adaptions have you particularly enjoyed? Drop your faves and recs in the comments, but keep it truthful so we don’t all get sued. — EB