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2021 Neb. L. Rev. Bulletin [1] (2021)

handle is hein.journals/nelrvbu2021 and id is 1 raw text is: The Big Problem with the Small Penis Rule: Why It Does Not Limit Defamation Liability Michael Conklin* The small penis rule is an informal strategy for limiting defamation liability for authors of fiction. The rule recommends that when an author utilizes a fictional character to defame a real-life person, he should also give the character a small penis the logic being that in order to sue, a plaintiff would have to admit that he is the fictional character, therefore admitting that he has a small penis, and thus dissuading such litigation. In this first-ever Article to address the issue, evidence is provided for why this is an unwise strategy and how it would likely cause an increase in defamation liability. Additionally, this Article covers alternatives available to authors of fiction, a real-life example from Michael Crichton, and the peculiarly gendered nature of the small penis rule. I. Introduction Imagine you are a famous fiction writer who received a bad review from a critic. Seeking revenge, you insert the critic in your next book in a not-so-subtle and not-so-flattering manner. You change his name from Michael Crowley to Mick Crowley. You refer to Mick Crowley as a Yale graduate who is a political journalist in Washington, D.C., both of which are true of the real- life Michael Crowley. In order to get revenge, you create a narrative in which Mick Crowley is a Powell Endowed Professor of Business Law, Angelo State University.

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