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Evel Knievel Not Defamed by 'Pimp' Photo

A Web site photo with a caption that read "Evel Knievel proves that you're never too old to be a pimp" was probably meant to be a compliment, a federal appeals court in California ruled Tuesday, dismissing the famous daredevil's defamation lawsuit against ESPN Inc.

No reasonable person, viewing the photograph and caption in the context in which they were presented, would think that Knievel was actually a pimp or that his wife, who also appeared in the picture along with a second unidentified woman, was involved in prostitution, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said.

According to court filings, in April 2001 Evel Knievel and his wife at the time, Krystal, attended the ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards in Las Vegas. Celebrities at the event were asked for permission to have their pictures taken, and many, including Knievel, gave their consent.

The pictures were later posted on expn.com, a Web site that covers "extreme" sports such as skateboarding and motorcycle racing. Each picture included a caption.

The photo of Knievel was the 10th of a "slide show" of 17 pictures taken at the awards event. To see it, viewers had to either scroll forward through the first nine photos or backwards through the last seven. Some of the other photo captions included terms such as "share the love," "rocks the shades," "throwing down a pose," "hardcore" and "hottie," court record say.

Knievel and his wife filed suit against ESPN Inc. and Walt Disney Inc., which control the expn.com site, alleging defamation under Montana law. According to court filings, the parties agreed to drop Disney as a defendant.

ESPN then moved to dismiss the case, arguing that no reasonable person, viewing the photo and caption in context on the Web site, would believe Evel Knievel was really a pimp, or his wife a prostitute.

Chief U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of the District of Montana agreed, saying the "loose, figurative slang" in the photo captions makes it clear that expn.com is targeted at teenagers and young adults who would understand that the word "pimp," in addition to its literal meaning, can also mean "cool" and, as a verb, can mean "to plug or promote."

What matters in a defamation case is not how the plaintiff perceives the disputed statement, but how the intended audience would view it, the judge said.

Now, the 9th Circuit has affirmed that conclusion.

"Although the word 'pimp' may be reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning when read in isolation, we agree with the District Court's assessment that 'the term loses its meaning when considered in the context presented here'. ... Ironically, it was most likely intended as a compliment," the court said.

Even if that were not the case, the panel said, ESPN would still not be liable because the caption is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Reiterating the importance of the context in which the photo appeared, the appeals court said a reasonable person would interpret the caption as hyperbole rather than as a factual allegation.