IRONY

Judge Tosses Roy Moore’s $95M Defamation Lawsuit Against Sacha Baron Cohen

In his ruling, federal Judge John Cronan said Moore signed a legal contract when he appeared on Cohen’s series “Who is America?”

For someone who has repeatedly cited his experience as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, you’d think Roy Moore would have an understanding of the law. Not so, a federal judge said Tuesday. U.S. District Court John P. Cronan tossed a $95 million lawsuit filed by Moore and his wife Kayla against Sacha Baron Cohen. In his 2018 series, Who is America?, Cohen duped Moore by posing as a counterterrorism expert whose alarm would beep if it was near a pedophile. It beeped over Moore, who has faced numerous allegations of sexual impropriety with minors.

Moore sued Cohen and Showtime for defamation and emotional distress. But Cronan said Moore signed an “unambiguous” waiver before appearing on the show, and the show also had First Amendment protections. “Given the satirical nature of that segment and the context in which it was presented, no reasonable viewer would have interpreted Cohen’s conduct during the interview as asserting factual statements concerning Judge Moore,” he wrote.