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Random Muse
Freedom of expression!
Marina Hyde vs Sir Elton John:
Sachitra MAHENDRA
“The next night I welcomed the exact same crowd to my place for my
annual White Tie & Tiaras ball. Lulu, Kelly Osbourne, Agyness Deyn,
Richard Desmond, Liz Hurley, Bill Clinton - I met most of them 10
minutes ago, but we have something very special and magical in common:
we’re all members of the entertainment industry. You can’t manufacture a
connection like that.”
A peek at the diary of... Elton John
We are always fond of celebrity gossip. Speaking of which I must note
A D Ranjith Kumara’s recent publication of Rukmani Devi’s biography.
Importantly Ranjith Kumara has republished Rukmani Devi’s
autobiographical diary notes that appeared in a Sinhala weekly. Only a
few knew then that it was Karunasena Jayalath who had ghostwritten the
late songstress’s autobiographical notes. That was long before he took
to being a celebrated novelist.
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Elton John |
Marina Hyde |
Marina Hyde is a British columnist who writes a series much the same
for Guardian titled A peek at the diary of.... However Jayalath and Hyde
shares a difference. Hyde writes diary entries for artistes of varying
calibres such as Brad Pitt, Gordon Ramsay, George W Bush, Angelina Jolie,
Sarah Palin, George Michael, David Bekham, Daniel Radcliffe, Cherie
Blair and Mariah Carey.
Whereas Jayalath’s was confined to Rukmani Devi. Her style varies
according to the personality of the celebrity. She mostly uses a
colloquial form of English mixed with ‘irony’ and ‘teasing’ (will
explain inverted commas in a little while).
Hyde’s column is light reading mirroring the lives of personalities
in a satirical way. She wrote a diary entry for Sir Elton John in July 5
in the same manner, and that was not more than three paragraphs. I have
reproduced a paragraph for your reference on the top of this.
Hyde’s freedom of expression was not dare questioned until Sir Elton
John, widely known for his tantrums and tiaras, filed a libel case
against the Guardian columnist. Hyde’s references to Sir Elton’s ‘annual
White Tie and Tiara ball’ had stirred up the quick temper of famous
philanthropist turned singer. Hyde’s impersonated diary entries imply
the philanthropist’s activities are carried out for the sake of his
self-promotion.
However the high court’s ruling was that the Guardian columnist’s was
‘irony’ and ‘teasing’, which cannot be considered libel in the least.
Interestingly the High Court Judge had given a good literature lesson in
the 17-page judgment: “Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended
meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used... The
attribution is literally false but no reasonable reader could be misled
by it.”
It was truly a victory for Marina Hyde, Guardian, and media above all
to speak of ‘freedom of expression’. Hyde’s note on the triumph deserves
admiration:
“Like so many sweet moments, however, it was tinged with agony. That
the victory came at the expense of Elton John - who is widely recognised
as one of the loveliest guys in show business - was tough to take.”
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