Elton John is a boring twat

[faceless]

A victory for irony as Elton John loses Guardian libel case
Duncan Campbell
The Guardian,
13 December 2008

Sir Elton John is well known for his quick temper and outrageous behaviour. A documentary of his life said it all - it was called, knowingly, Tantrums and Tiaras. But a high court judge ruled yesterday that the singer's sense of humour failure over a satirical piece by a Guardian columnist was a tantrum too far.

In a groundbreaking libel decision, the judge said that "irony" and "teasing" do not amount to defamation. The ruling offers protection to writers of satirical articles clearly not meant to be taken seriously and was welcomed last night by media lawyers and journalists. The Guardian was awarded costs and the singer, who brought the action, was refused leave to appeal by Mr Justice Tugendhat. John's legal team indicated that he might now seek leave to appeal.

John brought the action following the publication in Guardian Weekend magazine, in July this year, of a spoof diary written by Marina Hyde. "A peek at the diary of Sir Elton John" recorded his fictional thoughts about his annual White Tie and Tiara ball, which raises millions of pounds for the Elton John Aids Foundation.

"Naturally, everyone could afford just to hand over the money if they gave that much of a toss about Aids research - as could the sponsors," Hyde wrote, in the persona of the singer. "But we like to give guests a preposterously lavish evening because they're the kind of people who wouldn't turn up for anything less." Photos of the ball had been published by arrangement in OK! magazine under the heading: "The stars dazzle in Chopard as they join Sir Elton John and David Furnish for their annual extravaganza."

The singer, represented by solicitors Carter Ruck and, in court, by William McCormick, claimed that the article suggested that John's commitment to the charity is so insincere that he hosts the ball knowing that only a small proportion of the money raised will go to the charity, and that he uses the event "as an occasion for meeting celebrities and/or self-promotion".

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haha, this is great to hear - the stupid, balding, self-important, hypocritical, twittering bawbag must be crying into his toupee today!