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Short People Problems: Italian Prime Minister sues a reporter who mocks her height
Every so often, something shows up in the international news media that should remind Americans of all political persuasions why we need to be grateful for the First Amendment.
Can anyone imagine an American president suing a reporter — and winning — because the reporter mocked the president’s height?
No, I’m not kidding. The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who I actually like a lot better than I did when she was first elected, has just won a defamation lawsuit against a reporter who ridiculed her height, which according to media reports is about 5'2", and the reporter has been ordered to pay the US dollar equivalent of about $5,400. (The amount of the actual judgment is 5000 euros.)
Yes, she’s short. She’s slightly shorter than I am.
I’m well aware of the jokes I sometimes deal with, mostly told behind my back, but occasionally in public. Next month will mark my 40th year in the news media, and being called the “little guy” is something I’ve been used to for all of that time. Perhaps the funniest example was at a school board meeting where people in the audience were asked to stand up and a board member who saw me started to ask me to stand up and then brought the house down by saying, “I guess Darrell is already…