The family of Nancy Benoit now has the green light to sue Hustler Magazine for publishing nude photos of her after being murdered by her husband, WWE wrestler Chris Benoit. The published collection of photos were from a 1983 shoot with the magazine titled “The Private Photos of Fallen Angel.”
In October 2008, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Larry Flynt Publishing Group, Hustler Magazine’s publisher. The decision stated that the photos were “legitimate matter of public interest and concern” and that they had the right to be published. After the case was thrown out, the family of Nancy Benoit appealed the ruling and the decision was reversed by the Atlanta based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009. The court ruled that Benoit’s death was indeed newsworthy but the nude photos were not.
On March 1, 2010, the United States Supreme Court awarded Nancy Benoit with the post mortem right to have the nude pictures kept out of sight. Larry Flynt and Hustler Magazine said that publishing the pictures was their First Amendment right. No future court dates have been announced.
Nancy Benoit and her son, Daniel, were victims in a murder suicide in June 2007.
I think Larry Flint had no right to publish nude photos of Benoit without the permission of the family,it does not fall under the first amendment,it comes under the privacy act,he just trying to stop a law suit that he already knows he is going to loose, this law suit is going to cost him millions of dollars in damages,he would better of to settle before it reaches this point,i am glad the family got the green light to proceed,this is what is needed to stop this flagrant publishing of photos by magazines of this type,with out authorization.
I think what Larry Flint did was right. It let us see the one time beauty of the fallen angel as she was at the time of the photos and to come to realize how she was at that time not the now and then of the time of the loss of her life. if she had beauty let us all remember her for that.
It all depends on the source of the photos. No one should have the right to publish photos of you without your permission. However, in this case she had a legitimate photo shoot and had gave permission prior to her death. Just because she is now dead, this does not give the family some right to sue for them being published. Do we now let Michael Jackson’s kids sue when a photo of Mike dancing hits the magazines? Or maybe we let Lisa Marie sue everytime someone posts a photo of Elvis singing? Oh I can hear all the people yelling “But it’s not the same”. Sorry, but it is. If you give permission for someone to photograph you (nude or not) and you further grant permission for it to be published, then it’s now publishable anytime that person/entity wants to. Your family may be hurt by it after your death, but if that concerns you, think before you let the photoshoot happen.
She did a legit and legal photoshoot in 1983. She signed the ok. Was she over 18? Was she mentally able to sign? Then any lawsuit against anyone then, now, or 100 years from now for publishing them is a farce and an attempt to get free money through yet another bogus lawsuit.
“Freedom is only freedom insofar as you do not infringe upon the rights of others. Once you infringe upon the rights of others, then it is no longer freedom but vice. And if all were to yield to vice, then no one would have any freedom.”—-This has to do with law that affects ALL. Not just a ‘SELFISH’ (Sexually depraved) few. “‘Her’ blood crys to me from the ground.” There is no excuse for taking a human life (unless it is self defense-but then you are not ‘taking’ life but preserving life – your own. I hate having to ‘listen’ to selfish people – mind your own business. Murder, Murder, Murder, Murder, that’s okay the persons dead and cant speak for themselves. It’s ok for criminals and those who hide behind badges (cops) to commit murder (and those who are rich) let society support those in jail. (Thier brainwashed to believe they are criminals (even if jailed for something petty) and then malenutritioned so they are unfit for society in every way. Never condone a criminal act or you yourself bring yourself down to thier level when doing so.