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| | | WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! |  |
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King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
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Registration date : 2009-09-30
 | | Subject: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Wed 23 May 2012, 8:01 pm | |
| http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/WWE_Responds_to_Barely_Above_Pornography_Comment_from_Newspaper_Editorial.html
- Last week, writer Joshua Fisher of The Darien Times newspaper wrote about Linda McMahon and her bid for the United States Senate. Fisher called WWE "a product that is barely above pornography." He wrote:
"Linda McMahon has been gathering up town committee and Connecticut Republican endorsements all over the state. Including endorsements from Darien’s first selectman and RTC chairman. Some are saying the former WWE CEO has the experience to create jobs in Connecticut — something the U.S. Senate has little influence on. And even if you look past McMahon’s history of creating jobs by peddling a product that is barely above pornography, her ideas and platform are weak and her chances of actually winning the general election in November are even weaker."
WWE's "Stand Up for WWE" campaign has responded with the following letter:
Dear Mr. Fisher:
We are writing regarding your column that appeared in the Darien Times on May 17, 2012, where you state that WWE is a product “barely above pornography.”
Although this was an opinion piece, your position as editor of the Darien Times would ethically require you to report the facts accurately and not distort the truth. For future editorials and news stories that may pertain to WWE, we wanted you to be aware of the facts so you clearly understand our programming content and the type of entertainment we provide to our more than 300,000 fans in the state of Connecticut and millions around the world.
All WWE television programming features only TV-PG content as rated not by us, but by the network TV distributors and their standards and practices departments. WWE weekly programming has always appeared on basic cable or broadcast television. As any casual television viewer knows, your description of our programming, based on the Federal Communications Commission rules alone, would not be permitted on broadcast television or basic cable.
WWE is family entertainment. In fact, 40 percent of the millions of fans who attend our live events bring their children. It’s insulting to these parents to think that they would condone their children watching inappropriate content. WWE may not be your personal choice of entertainment, but that does not give you the right to damage our corporate reputation.
On behalf of WWE, its 690 employees and our fans in Connecticut, we would appreciate it if you would stick to factual statements about our organization and brand. For more information on our company, please go to corporate.wwe.com and feel free to reach out to us for the facts in advance of any articles you write relating to WWE.
Sincerely,
Brian Flinn
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Last edited by King Silva on Tue 05 Jun 2012, 11:31 pm; edited 3 times in total | |
| | | | Vince
Main Eventer
Number of posts : 503
Age : 27
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Registration date : 2010-11-20
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Wed 23 May 2012, 8:39 pm | |
| | |
| | | | King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
Favorite TNA Knockout : ---
Registration date : 2009-09-30
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Wed 23 May 2012, 8:49 pm | |
| LOL; yeah that letter pretty much told that guy off in about as respectful of a matter as possible. :P | |
| | | | King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
Favorite TNA Knockout : ---
Registration date : 2009-09-30
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Fri 25 May 2012, 8:35 pm | |
| -- In a separate legal story, WWE is threatening legal action against Manchester Journal Inquirer’s managing editor Chris Powell for comments made in a Monday editorial. Powell said former WWE CEO Linda McMahon generated her income to fund two separate U.S. Senate campaigns through the "business of violence, pornography, and general raunch.”
WWE sent a letter to Powell demanding a retraction in addition to threatening legal action. Powell retorted that he never mentioned WWE in his column. He also pointed to YouTube having an age restriction warning on footage of Trish Stratus's character being forced to beg like a dog during an episode of WWE TV during the Attitude Era.
Powell told the Connecticut News Junkie website that he received the letter, was dismissive of the threat, and asked WWE if they wanted it published. “I also asked if we could get the depositions done before the Republican primary (in August) because I wanted to meet Trish,” he said. (CTNewsJunkie.com )
http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_61792.shtml | |
| | | | Paul Wyatt
NCD aka Name Changing Dude
Number of posts : 18569
Age : 37
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| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Sat 26 May 2012, 11:37 am | |
| I don't see how WWE, in recent years however, is even remotely anything similar to porn. | |
| | | | VLG.
The Voice
Number of posts : 3474
Age : 30
Location : Scotland
Job/hobbies : Musician/Radio Presenter/Charity Worker
Favorite WWE Wrestler : Daniel Bryan
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Registration date : 2009-11-14
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Sat 26 May 2012, 3:03 pm | |
| Its been a long time since there was anything on WWE's product that could be even misconstrued as porn. Describing it as pornography is, apart from distasteful and damaging to WWE's reputation, is wrong. | |
| | | | King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
Favorite TNA Knockout : ---
Registration date : 2009-09-30
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Sun 27 May 2012, 7:39 am | |
| ^ Agreed.
I hope this writer learns a lesson and any other writers also get the message that WWE won't just allow people to talk shit about them.. | |
| | | | King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
Favorite TNA Knockout : ---
Registration date : 2009-09-30
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Fri 01 Jun 2012, 12:55 pm | |
| http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2012/05/30/chris_powell/doc4fc6ea7f645fd394119365.txt
Criticize U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon and you risk getting threatened with a libel lawsuit by the wrestling entertainment company she used to run, WWE Inc. of Stamford, now run by her husband -- threatened even when the criticism of McMahon doesn't mention WWE.
WWE says it doesn't produce pornography and its television programs have been rated "PG" -- "parental guidance" -- since 2008. The purpose of WWE's libel threats is to discourage complaints about the product of the candidate's business prior to 2008, before she began to think about using her fortune to acquire high public office and started cleaning up her act.
Such complaints, documented by videos of WWE programs produced before 2008, destroyed McMahon's Senate candidacy in 2010 and left her at the bottom of the Republican ticket, with more people holding a negative opinion of her than a positive one.
But what an entertainment such a libel lawsuit might be, starting with the depositions, the preliminary questioning of potential witnesses under oath.
"Mrs. McMahon, in the video playing now, who is the man in the wrestling ring with the microphone instructing that shapely young woman to undress and get down on her hands and knees and bark like a dog? Your husband? What do you think of that?"
"In this video who are the young women undressing, kissing, and touching each other sexually in the ring? What is conveyed by the big man jumping on top of them as they lie naked on the mat?"
"Mrs. McMahon, this video shows your husband and son pouring paint over the head of a wrestler who seems meant to appear mentally retarded. They beat him up and push his head into a toilet. Did you approve this scene?"
"In this video a bed has been placed in the ring. A man undresses a woman down to her bra and panties, simulates sex with her as they stand next to the bed, places her under the covers, follows her there, and emerges to toss her bra and panties on the mat. Your daughter is now WWE's creative director. Was this scene her idea?
"The scene in the next video appears to take place in a funeral parlor, where a male wrestler undresses himself and then undresses the corpse of a woman in a casket before climbing on top of her. Is this meant to depict necrophilia?
"This video shows your husband and daughter in the ring with the shapely young woman who barked like a dog in the first video. Your husband and daughter force her face into a slop bucket and your husband taunts her for having been 'daddy's little toy.' Then your husband pours the slop bucket on her head. In your campaign's television and radio commercials you describe yourself as a 'job creator.' What are the job descriptions of the women who undress in the ring, behave lasciviously, and are pushed into a slop bucket? If this stuff is not pornography, what is it exactly?
"Mrs. McMahon, in your campaign commercials you say, 'I worry that our grandchildren will have a worse quality of life than we did.' Has WWE's product elevated or coarsened the quality of life for our grandchildren?
"Mrs. McMahon, you cite your success in business as a qualification for U.S. senator. Is there any sort of business success that you might not consider a qualification for public office?"
Enjoying once again the extravagantly catered largesse of the McMahon campaign, many leading Republicans in Connecticut are not inclined to spoil it with such questions. They may figure that the party can never win in this state anyway so they might as well have another good time losing.
Republicans who think otherwise, people McMahon can't buy, she tries to bully. And while the latter may be good guys, good guys seldom bring bad guys down. Usually it's just that bad guys go too far. The big political question facing Connecticut may be whether there will ever again be any "too far" here. | |
| | | | VLG.
The Voice
Number of posts : 3474
Age : 30
Location : Scotland
Job/hobbies : Musician/Radio Presenter/Charity Worker
Favorite WWE Wrestler : Daniel Bryan
CM Punk
Cesaro
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Bully Ray
Registration date : 2009-11-14
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Fri 01 Jun 2012, 1:14 pm | |
| Its worth pointing out, none of the segments mentioned featured Linda McMahon, only family members. If Linda did not feature, and it cannot be proved she had input in any segments, then the fact that she used to be the CEO of WWE has no relevance to her campaign. | |
| | | | King Silva
King of Kings
Number of posts : 32652
Age : 33
Location : Sacramento, California
Favorite WWE Wrestler : ---
Current and Former:
The Rock, JoMo, Ziggler, Edge, Orton, Y2J, Hardyz, + Rhodes!
Favorite WWE Diva : -------
ALL TIME
# 1} Lita
# 2} Trish Stratus
# 3} Mickie James
# 4} Gail Kim
# 5} Michelle McCool
Favorite TNA Wrestler : ----
Favorite TNA Knockout : ---
Registration date : 2009-09-30
| | Subject: Re: WWE Responds to "Barely Above Pornography" Comment from Newspaper Editorial; Might Sue! Tue 05 Jun 2012, 11:29 pm | |
| This story never ends...:
http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/255787-the-rock-wraps-movie-journal-inquirer-files-wwe-complaint
The Journal Inquirer has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against WWE, accusing the company of assisting Linda McMahon's Senate campaign when it threatened to sue JI for criticizing WWE. The article notes:
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., the Stamford company co-founded by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, violated federal election law when it assisted her campaign by threatening to sue the Journal Inquirer for criticizing her, the newspaper says in a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The newspaper’s complaint, lodged late last week, charges that the corporation’s assistance was rendered by WWE Senior Vice President Brian Flinn, who sent the threatening letter accusing the JI of libel. McMahon ran the company as its chief executive before resigning in favor of her husband.
In response, WWE's Senior Vice President, Brian Flinn, had the following to say:
"WWE acted solely and specifically to defend its business and corporate reputation from the reckless and false statement that WWE is in the business of pornography," he said. "This is not about politics or Linda McMahon’s campaign. Further, it is clear to any reasonable person that Mr. Powell was referencing WWE in his column on May 21."
Flinn added that WWE "is not attempting to prevent the media from exercising its First Amendment rights."
"In fact, WWE itself makes a living by exercising those rights," he said. "However, that does not give anyone the right to hide behind the First Amendment to recklessly disregard the facts. While everyone is entitled to an opinion, it is ruthless and in some cases unlawful to disparage a company and its 700 employees with blatant disregard for the truth and damaging misrepresentations." | |
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