Gay Webzine Removes Controversial Parody of Celebrity Interviewer

A gay webzine based in Southern California has eliminated a controversial parody written by a Palm Springs gay activist mimicking a celebrity interviewer's close encounters with Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and other celebrities.

Palm Springs, CA November 22, 2004 -- A gay webzine based in Southern California has eliminated a controversial parody written by a Palm Springs gay activist mimicking a celebrity interviewer's close encounters with Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and other celebrities.

The parody, "Tim Nasson: The Unfaked Interview," written by Crusader, was originally published on metroG.com. After metroG and Crusader received e-mails from Nasson threatening legal action on November 15, metroG eliminated the parody and all of Crusader's writings from the web site. Crusader was a writer for MetroG for 5 yrs.

Crusader is the activist formerly known as Andrew Exler who successfully sued Disneyland after being ejected from the amusement park while dancing in Tomorrowland with a male friend in 1980. He legally changed his name to Crusader in July 1995.              

On November 16, Crusader re-published the parody on his personal web page and the same day received an e-mail from Nasson threatening legal action.

"My parody is making readers laugh," said Crusader. "I don't understand why Mr. Nasson is making such a fuss about it."

Crusader says that his parody will withstand any legal challenge under Flynt v. Falwell. In that landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Hustler magazine owner Larry Flynt had the constitutional right to publish a parody interview about Rev. Jerry Falwell and Flynt did not have to pay monetary damages to Falwell.

Under the name Andrew Exler, Crusader has published articles for the national gay magazine The Advocate and several gay-related magazines in California.

To read the parody visit http://therealcrusader.com/tim.html

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Crusader
(760) 409-8139
e-mail protected from spam bots
http://therealcrusader.com

###