Gregory also wrote editorials criticising Tory politicians and lamenting the mistreatment of the poor.
Although some subjects filed lawsuits against him, the legal system of the time made it difficult for them to force the courts to penalise him.
The legal husband of Jane Williams, who had left him for another man, had provided Gregory with the details of her marital status.
Though Williams was legally married to John Edward Johnson, she had been living with Thomas Jefferson Hogg and purported to be his wife.
The article that Gregory published incorrectly claimed that the wife of James Hogg was legally married to another man.
Although Gregory later learned that Thomas Jefferson Hogg was the intended subject of the scandal, he withheld the information at the request of Leigh Hunt.
[1] After the verdict was affirmed Gregory was briefly a fugitive from justice and the Duke offered a significant reward for his arrest.
[9] During his term in Newgate, Gregory and his friends frequently complained that he was being poorly treated and had become ill as a result.
In response, Punch ran an article arguing Gregory and other prisoners in his situation should be released early on health grounds.
[1] In addition to his literary career, Gregory was a skilled actor and was an expert in the portrayal of Shakespearean characters.
In February 1843 he was performing as Prince Hamlet in a production at Covent Garden when members of the audience began loudly whistling, catcalling and shouting at the stage.
The group was led by the Duke of Brunswick, who signalled the crowd to begin their disruption from his private box.
[8] The Duke's defence was that his actions were justified because of a man of Gregory's character should not be permitted to appear on the stage.
[12] Though he was notorious for the spiteful attacks he published in his paper, Gregory was generally very friendly and polite in his personal life.