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Hustler publisher defends lewd S.E. Cupp image: ‘That’s satire’

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Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt told The Daily Caller Wednesday that he had a right to publish a fake image of conservative commentator S.E. Cupp engaging in a sex act.

“That’s satire,” Flynt explained in a Wednesday email to TheDC.

The latest issue of Hustler features an image of Cupp with a phallus in her mouth and a disclaimer that the picture is fake.

“S.E. Cupp is a lovely young lady who read too much Ayn Rand in high school and ended up joining the dark side,” the magazine caption reads. “Cupp, an author and media commentator who often shows up on Fox News programs, is undeniably cute. But her hotness is diminished when she espouses dumb ideas like defunding Planned Parenthood. Perhaps the method pictured here is Ms. Cupp’s suggestion for avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.”

Hustler has been condemned for the image throughout the conservative blogosphere, as well as by Planned Parenthood and Sandra Fluke. Some commentators have suggested that Cupp sue Hustler.

Flynt says that it is entirely within his right to publish the image.

“I’m able to publish this because of the Supreme Court case I won in 1984, Flynt v. Falwell,” he told TheDC.

In that case, the Supreme Court found that the First Amendment protected Hustler’s decision to publish a 1983 parody of evangelical leader Jerry Falwell entitled “Jerry Falwell talks about his first time.”

According to the court, the parody — which suggested that Falwell lost his virginity during a drunken escapade with his mother in an outhouse — was protected speech because Falwell was a public figure. The case was decided in 1988 unanimously.

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