Attorney Says ‘Opie & Anthony’ Host Defamed

MANHATTAN (CN) - An attorney claims a guest host on the "Opie and Anthony" show insulted him because the attorney favors affirmative action programs for black people but not for white women. The guest host said, for example, "The chicken crossed the road because it thought that (plaintiff) would try to f**k it."

In a pro se complaint in New York County Court, lawyer Roy Den Hollander returns the favor, saying the guest host "wastes much of his empty life trying to revolt people, being an alcoholic and drug addict, and spends much of his time in the bizarre capacity of smelling people's stomachs."

After 10 lurid paragraphs in which Hollander describes the guest host James Joseph Norton's personal life and alleged proclivities in far from flattering terms, he claims, "Mr. Norton has a history of defaming people who disagree with him and bigotry toward African Americans that he often expresses on stage."

Hollander claims Norton defamed him by calling him "dishonest," a "phony," a "fag," a "hypocrite," a "stupid lawyer," and by saying, twice: Hollander's complaint is most notable, perhaps, for the 10 paragraphs in which he returns the insults. The complaint states: "James. J. Norton is a talk show host and small-time comedian who uses cursing, yelling, bigotry, and high-school boys-room humor to entertain immature and insecure audiences. ... His alleged humor focuses on perversion and in 2000 he was arrested for having to pay teen-age girls to expose themselves in public and admits to having to pay top dollar for sexual massages. Mr. Norton played a role, apparently biographical, in the TV show Lucky Louie as a rich, foul-mouthed, perverted, ill-informed character that lives with his mother and deals pot to high schoolers. ... He wastes much of his empty life trying to revolt people, being an alcoholic and drug addict, and spends much of his time in the bizarre capacity of smelling people's stomachs. He pretends to be a man of the people, yet lives in a million dollar apartment overlooking the Hudson River and drives a 2006 Cadillac STS, 4-door sedan, not in a very safe manner given his list of traffic violations."

And so on.

Hollander wants $500,000 for defamation. He represents himself.

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