Fascinating post from Eugene Volokh this afternoon on whether Rush Limbaugh calling a Georgetown law student a “slut” and a “prostitute” could be actionable for libel/slander, false light, or for violating a Florida law the forbids “imputing to her a want of chastity.” (To you younger people, that means saying she’s having sex outside of marriage.)
Volokh, a law professor who has condemned Limbaugh’s attacks on the student, says that his comments, however horrible, would not be actionable because everybody listening understood that he was using “rhetorical hyperbole” and didn’t literally mean she was selling sex for money.
An excellent, in-depth discussion of the law involved. Must read!
Are you following blog The Volokh Conspiracy on Twitter? Well-done libertarian/conservative legal thought.