Britney Blasted over Baldness Billboards

Britney Blasted over Baldness Billboards by Roxanne McDonald

Can celebrity get away from mockery? Better yet, can satire be misconstrued…and sued?

Evidently, yes.

According to Levine Breaking News (June 18, 2007) and Celebrity Spider, a Florida radio station, WFLZ, displayed billboards with Brit’s bald head and captions that she and her lawyer are interpreting as slanderous enough to go to court over:

The words “Certifiable�, “Shock Therapy,� and “Total Nut Jobs� were used to sell the station’s “MJ Morning Show.� But Spears and her lawyer have issued complains and threats to the legal department of Clear Channel—claiming that the billboards link mental illness with the fallen (or falling) pop star’s public image.

The station has complied by removing the billboards whose ads call into question Spears’ sanity, but I have to call into question the actual advertising Britney herself has done to advertise.

Would a few words under a picture be more convincing (more damaging) than the diva’s actual behavior? Did she not exploit her own crumbling mental state with actions left to our interpretation? And in regards to interpretation, where is the line to be drawn between marketing and satire?

If WFLZ plays Britney’s songs, and if the morning show is full of spoofery and lampooning, how far can the station be allowed to go in advertising and mockery?

Granted, law suits are common with regards to misrepresentation. Consider the number of times The National Enquirer has been taken to court. But litigious actions…can they be justified when the subject (or plaintiff) has instigated the art…which is just that, art?

Celebrity Spider Britney Spears links

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