Fortunately, a federal judge has done the right thing and upheld free speech rights.
In her suit, filed in March in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Burnett claimed that after she refused to grant Fox and Family Guy mastermind Seth McFarlane consent to use the theme music from The Carol Burnett Show, they "knowingly and deliberately" rewrote the episode to disparage Burnett's famous cleaning-lady character....
In his ruling signed Friday and made public Monday, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson saw little if any harm done to Burnett. While he "fully appreciates how distasteful and offensive the segment is to Ms. Burnett," Pregerson noted that parody is protected by the freedom of speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.
Burnett's original complaint can be read here.
