Fred Stoller, a former Seinfeld writer and sometimes guest star, wrote a memoir about “The Life of a Perennial TV Guest Star.”  In one chapter, Stoller described an experience on “Kramer Reality Tours,” which provides bus tours of New York City locations portrayed in Seinfeld.  Stoller wrote that while on a tour in Greenwich Village, he heard a tour employee scream, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” a direct reference to a line used on the Seinfeld show, referring to members of the gay community.

In Kramer v. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., Kenny Kramer and Kramer Reality Tours sued Stoller for defamation alleging that the chapter was false and that it accused plaintiffs of taunting the gay community.  The plaintiffs claimed that the chapter damaged their business reputation.  The court however, found that in the chapter, Stoller described the “shtick” where the employees called out several catch phrases from the show.  Although Stoller described the entire exercise as annoying, he did not depict any pointing or “taunting” at members of the gay community.  Accordingly, the court found that when taken in context of the complete chapter, the inference that Kramer was homophobic was not reasonable, and dismissed the complaint.

When it comes to defamation, context is key.  Therefore, when analyzing a defamation claim, it is important to review the entire background (and perhaps watch some Seinfeld episodes), so that the claim can be properly defended.

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