PDF   Print
Id
190
Title
Elton John v Guardian News & Media Ltd
Date
12/12/2008
Country
ENGLAND and WALES (Europe)
Judicial Body
HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
Case number
[2008] EWHC 3066 (QB)
Main themes
Defamation
Type of expression
Irony
Magazine
Media
Parody
Printed newspaper
Reasonable Reader
Satire
Decision direction
Expands expression
Outcome
The Claim was struck out
Link to analysis
Summary
On 5 July 2008 The Guardian published an article in the ‘Weekend’ supplement, titled ‘A Peek at the Diary of Sir Elton John’ which parodied Elton John’s diary and the contents satirised John’s relationship with Nelson Mandela, his appearance at Mandela’s birthday party and a charity ball which John had thrown to raise money for an AIDS charity.
John issued a defamation claim on the grounds that the article suggested he was insincere and that he made false claims regarding the amount of money which went to the charity.
The court considered no reasonable reader would have understood the words in a satirical article to be serious allegations about the claimant and his charitable donations.
The claim was struck out.