Being Called Gay: To Sue or Not to Sue
Now, here's an issue I know Lady Gaga and I would give the same advice on: suing because someone called you gay just isn't a great use of your time. Apparently Ron Livingston disagrees. Now I loved him in Swingers and Office Space (not to mention -- and I realize I'm losing most of my readers with this reference -- the whole breaking up with Carrie via a post-it note Sex and the City role) but Ron, suing Wikipedia because someone on there keeps saying you're gay is really quite silly. No one really thinks you're gay (unless you are and that's a whole different issue). And it kind of screams Tom Cruise, which is probably not a man you want to be aligning yourself with in people's minds if you're worried that they're thinking you're gay.
And Wikipedia! I mean, seriously? I remember one time when mine said something along the lines of "Anna David is the author of Party Girl and a complete know-it-all who's actually a bitch!!" Or something like that -- I can't recall the exact words. But rest assured I did not react to this by calling my lawyer (a, I don't really have one and b, hey, I value not wasting money). I simply laughed (I don't always laugh when I read mean things but this time I did because it was so random) and by the next time I checked the page, it was gone.
It is kind of awesome, however, that the problem with this lawsuit is that being called gay isn't considered defamation anymore. Yay for political correctness. Uh for Ron.
P.S. Isn't a sign that you've really made it when people start calling you gay? Maybe Ron is actually a bigger star than I realized.
P.P.S. I once unintentionally started a rumor that I was gay because a female friend and I have an inside joke about how we're married. It's a very silly you-had-to-be-there joke that has to do with this picture we took with a male friend when he had a full beard and how we looked like we should be on Big Love. She put that she was married to me on Facebook for a week and I started getting email from people who were like, "I didn't even know you were married, let alone to a girl!"
P.P.S.S. I still don't think this means I've made it.
I think that no one should take their Wiki page seriously
You make a great point about that
PS- I do think that you have already made it
Two awesome books with a 3rd one in process
Plus all your other amazing work!
Christ, if everyone got sued for telling someone else they were gay, the streets would be overflowing with con artists, murderers and Charles Manson. In fact, suing anyone for being told you’re something is a pain in the ass unless it’s true. (Course, once you’re called an asshole, suing the person who said it kinda proves his point.) I don’t know why some people love to call up the lawyers for nonsense like this when they can use a little wit and deflate the effects and even build up their reps. (Alas, you have to have wits to begin with and somewhere ranking with Mark Twain or Winston Churchill. Sadly, those gems are rare…and perhaps for the best. Next step down would be pistols at twenty and I don’t mean Nintendo Wii.) Something like the incident above, I’d just ask the Wiki web mods to remove the offending material in a calm rational manner and then ask that all future entries to that page be moderated and put on ice until I personally checked the material for any and all factual errors. Naturally, that would be a pain in the ass since there’s always a few jokers with too much times on their hands trying to input utter trash just for the laughs, but the savings on court costs and tabloid bullshit would make up for it.
Mr. Livingston is a damned fool for filing his lawsuit since now all the idiots have another piece of fresh meat to bloody the waters. I don’t think that’s the kind of attention he wants, especially where his career’s concerned. Besides, being called gay doesn’t carry the stigma it once had, though some circles still play it as a major dealbreaker. (Those places, thankfully, are shrinking since reasonable businesses just look for the green and not bother with the personal life unless it’s something major. Gay money is still money and it spends just as good.) If he had been called an anti-Semite or a pedophile in the article, THEN I would’ve supported a lawsuit since those accusations, even when false, stain a person for a long time. Calling someone gay is…well, unoriginal, childish and petty. Might as well call him a big fat gunky like a certain stand-up routine from Bill Cosby. (I have the record somewhere and yes, I’m THAT Old School. I’m sure some of you have something similar.) Mr. Livingston isn’t doing himself any favors with his lawsuit. He would best use his time polishing his craft than spending it in civil court. The Net is full of meathead entries professing the truth and more than often, someone expose them for the lies that they are.
As for you wondering if you’ve made it…I think your appearances on television, magazine articles, radio interviews, two websites and two books (well, three including your up-coming masterwork) proves that point. I think you’ll move up a notch the minute the film rights to BOUGHT or PARTY GIRL come in. (I do wonder if you’ll write the script, though.) About those rumors about you being gay, I’ll confess I thought you were more bisexual. There’s an artcile in Egotastic! where they have photos from Adrianne Curry’s Twitter account where she’s naked and making out with another chick and I swear the other woman looks a little like you. Maybe it’s something from my own fevered imagination or nothing, but I’m sticking with my story. (And yes, I know you’re not really gay or bi, Ms. David. This is only an observation, nothing else.)
Hmmm…I’m rather surprised about the Wikipedia thing considering that you are the only person that Encyclopedia Dramatica didn’t shred to bits in their G4 entries.
In case you haven’t seen this, and there is no reason you should have seen something on a site which has ichabod written over it, I recommend visiting through a proxy server…..God only knows how they haven’t been shut down. XD
Honestly, I think you are better off if you don’t make it. If you make it, people can be so nosey.
i’d never heard of encyclopedia dramatica but just went and checked it out and it’s kind of hilarious. i wouldn’t say that they went out of their way to praise me btw but i guess comparatively speaking i came off okay…
Doesn’t Soapnet use Encyclopedia Dramatica to explain all those convoluted plotlines the daytimes always spin? I swear it’s almost like reading a subway map.
Haha! I suspected you would have a look at the site Anna….it seems you escaped rather un-scarred. As for myself, I’ve seen some things that can’t be unseen on ED….