The adult industry is mourning the loss of the legendary free speech advocate and founder of the Hustler empire, who passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 78. The icon was a longtime supporter of LGBT rights.
The death was first reported by TMZ and then confirmed by the Flynt Management Group, which released this statement last night: “Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. passed away earlier today, Wednesday, February 10, 2021, in Los Angeles at the age of 78, from the recent onset of a sudden illness. He passed quietly in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his wife Liz and daughter Theresa by his side.”
Larry Flynt rose to prominence in the late 1960s when he opened up a handful of Hustler Clubs (featuring nude dancers) in Ohio. He soon debuted the Hustler Newsletter in the early ’70s, which evolved into the debut of Hustler magazine in 1974—the most explicit national magazine of its time that had to fight for its First Amendment rights. The magazine quickly rose to even bigger infamy after purchasing and publishing nude sunbathing pictures of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1975.
In addition to featuring more explicit pictures of the female anatomy, Hustler offered something for gay men to look at, too. Notes The Washington Post:
“Hustler, whose circulation peaked above 2 million in the late 1970s, thumbed its nose at sleeker skin publications such as Playboy and Penthouse. Mr. Flynt proudly offered Hustler as a blue-collar and taboo-smashing alternative with its raw frontal nudity of men and women, and crude cartoons.”
During a break from a court house appearance for an obscenity case in 1978, Flynt was shot and partially paralyzed, which confined him to a wheelchair. His shooter said he was angry after seeing an interracial couple photographed in the magazine. The setback didn’t stop Flynt, as the business mogul continued to grow Hustler’s empire (which included Larry Flynt Publications, Hustler Video, Hustler Casino, Hustler stores and more) and continually fight for First Amendment rights.
That included a landmark case victory in 1988, Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, where the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that the magazine’s parody ad of Jerry Falwell was protected speech because the televangelist was a public figure and the parody “could not have been reasonably considered believable.”
That victory served as the climax of the 1996 Hollywood biopic The People vs. Larry Flynt from Miloš Forman, an Oscar-winning director. The movie picked up Academy Award nominations for Forman and for lead actor Woody Harrelson, who portrayed Flynt (the movie also earned infamous bad girl Courtney Love a Golden Globe nod for Best Supporting Actress as Flynt’s fourth wife Althea, who passed away in 1997).
Flynt’s activism also earned him recognition from the Tom of Finland Foundation in 2002:
#LarryFlynt dies at 78
In 2002, #TomOfFinlandFoundation gave Flynt our Lifetime Achievement Award for his longtime fight to protect First Amendment rights.
MORE: https://t.co/wULkyw1IxQ@ImLarryFlynt seen here with @Ron_Athey_2 and @J_A_RobHalford at the awards ceremony. pic.twitter.com/1tEIgyg4oL
— Tom of Finland (@TomsFoundation) February 11, 2021
In an interview with San Diego CityBeat in 2011, Flynt noted his support of gay rights:
“I’ve always been pro-gay rights,” he said. “I’m a civil libertarian to the core…I’m especially conservative on fiscal issues, in terms of how I handle my money and how the government handles my money, but on social issues I’m totally liberal. I don’t think the government has any business in your bedroom whatsoever, and it’s none of their business who you’re in there with or what you’re doing.”
And as noted by Rolling Stone:
“When other distributors refused or were scared to distribute gay-themed magazines and movies, Flynt filled that niche — becoming an unexpected LGBTQ ally — as is recounted in the recent (Netflix) documentary, Circus of Books.”
Flynt also echoed his support of gay marriage in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, where he famously quipped “I think gays deserve the right to be just as miserable as the rest of us” while talking about his efforts to out philandering (and in some cases closeted) Republicans. His efforts led to former U.S. Representative Bob Livingston (Republican form Louisiana) resigning in 1999 shortly before he was expected to take over as Speaker of the House. (Flynt also had an unsuccessful bid for president n 1984.)
Flynt is survived by four children and his wife Elizabeth Berrios. Our condolences to all of his loved ones.
