March 1st, 2010

Nancy Benoit Hustler Pics Are Acceptable for Lawsuit (Nude Photo Scandal).  Larry Flynt got into some hot water when Hustler published nude pictures of Nancy Benoit after she was murdered by her WWE husband.  Nancy was murdered in a three day crime spree in which her husband, Chris Benoit, murdered her, their 7 year old son, and then hung himself on a weight machine.

Previous attempts to sue Hustler over the pictures turned up with no results. The court ruled that the photos were a matter of “public interest and concern.”

The appellate court overturned the ruling, stating:

“The photographs published by [Flynt] neither relate to the incident of public concern conceptually [the murders] nor correspond with the time period during which Benoit was rendered, against her will, the subject of public scrutiny. Were we to hold otherwise, [Flynt] would be free to publish any nude photograph of almost anyone without their permission, simply because the fact they were caught nude on camera strikes someone as ‘newsworthy.’ Surely that debases the very concept of a right to privacy.”

The nude photographs of Nancy Benoit that were published in Hustler were taken when she was 20 years old.   Her family contends that she requested that the photographs were to be destroyed immediately after she took them.

In June 2007, the murders took place in Atlanta.  Nancy was 43 at the time.  Hustler published her photos in the March 2008 issue, only after the murders gained international recognition.

Hustler contends that they have a first amendment right to publish the photographs. What do you think? Do you think that Hustler had the right to publish her photos, or was it a disrespectful thing to do?

Source:
CBS Crimesider

Photo Credit: Family Personal Photo