In the case, Hustler magazine ran a full-page parody ad against televangelist and political commentator Jerry Falwell Sr., depicting him as an incestuous drunk who had sex with his mother in an outhouse.

[3] The Hustler parody, created by writer Terry Abrahamson and art director Mike Salisbury,[5] included a headshot photo of Falwell and the transcript of a spoof interview, where, misunderstanding the interviewer's question about his "first time", "Falwell" casually shares details about his first sexual encounter, an incestuous rendezvous with his mother in the family outhouse while they were both "drunk off our God-fearing asses on Campari."

In the spoof interview, "Falwell" goes on to say that he was so intoxicated that "Mom looked better than a Baptist whore with a $100 donation," and that he decided to have sex with her because she had "showed all the other guys in town such a good time."

The Fourth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Flynt's argument that the actual-malice standard of New York Times Company v. Sullivan, applied in cases of intentional infliction of emotional distress where the plaintiff was a public figure, as Falwell concededly was.

[10] The New York Times standard focused too heavily on the truth of the statement at issue; for the Fourth Circuit, it was enough that Virginia law required the defendant to act intentionally.

The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty – and thus a good unto itself – but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole.

Even if Nast's cartoons were not particularly offensive, Falwell argued that the Hustler parody advertisement in this case was so "outrageous" as to take it outside the scope of First Amendment protection.

Because the district court found in favor of Flynt on the libel charge, there was no dispute as to whether the parody could be understood as describing facts about Falwell or events in which he participated.

Burt Neuborne, a civil rights attorney, First Amendment advocate and law professor who contributed to Flynt's defense, reversed roles and played Jerry Falwell's lawyer in the film.