# If Karl Pilkington took Ricky Gervais to court....... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165 "2013-02-13T09:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wabsnazsm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@wabsnazsm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wabsnazsm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/1 "2013-02-13T09:48:55Z")
…for defamation of character, would he win? Ricky calls him an idiot, an imbecile, a moron and when he squeezes his head, isn’t that assault? I know that they do good business on the back of all of this. It’s their “act” but what if Karl wanted his day in court? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/2 "2013-02-13T10:08:06Z")
I don’t think he could sue just Gervais. He probably would have to sue the televison production company producing all those shows making fun of him, RiSK limited. Good news for him, I understand that one of the founders of said company is a complete idiot, so that would make things a lot easier. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/3 "2013-02-13T12:18:08Z")
Moved frrom General Questions to IMHO. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/4 "2013-02-13T12:35:24Z")
If he had done it after the very first broadcast on radio, he might have had some kind of a chance. But the fact that he has voluntarily participated in, and profited from, these conversations, would make it hard for him to make a claim, I think, at least under American law. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/5 "2013-02-13T13:05:53Z")
I think the precedent for this case was settled in Howard v. Howard. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/6 "2013-02-13T14:02:27Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I don’t think he could sue just Gervais. He probably would have to sue the televison production company producing all those shows making fun of him, RiSK limited. > > Good news for him, I understand that one of the founders of said company is a complete idiot, so that would make things a lot easier. Well played, sir. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/7 "2013-02-13T14:22:32Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I think the precedent for this case was settled in Howard v. Howard. Would you care to elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/8 "2013-02-13T14:50:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Would you care to elaborate? In case you were serious… I believe he was referring to Moses Howard and Jerome Howard, aka Moe & Curly. Presumably Mr. Fine wasn’t part of the case. The point being that both Mr. Howards were actors, consenting to the various blows, strikes, slaps, knockdowns, arrows in the butt, hot irons to the face, claw hammers used as dragging devices in the nose, etc. etc., leading to the fairly obvious observation that actors cannot sue each other, or the producer, for staged violence as part of the act. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/9 "2013-02-13T14:51:36Z")
My guess is that it’s a 3 Stooges reference. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/10 "2013-02-13T18:07:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I think the precedent for this case was settled in Howard v. Howard. > [@Acsenray](#): > > Would you care to elaborate? > [@muldoonthief](#): > > In case you were serious… > > I believe he was referring to Moses Howard and Jerome Howard, aka Moe & Curly. Presumably Mr. Fine wasn’t part of the case. The point being that both Mr. Howards were actors, consenting to the various blows, strikes, slaps, knockdowns, arrows in the butt, hot irons to the face, claw hammers used as dragging devices in the nose, etc. etc., leading to the fairly obvious observation that actors cannot sue each other, or the producer, for staged violence as part of the act. Okay, here’s a question that might get this thread shot back to GQ: What if Moe wanted to sue both Larry and Curly, Larry wanted to sue both Moe and Curly, and Curly wanted to sue both Moe and Larry? Would there be any way for the case to be handled in a single trial? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/11 "2013-02-13T18:40:11Z")
They’d each independently retain the services of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, accidently meet up at the office trying to get back their retainers after D C & H absconded with all their assets, Larry’s hair would get ripped out, Curly would get a fishbowl stuck on his head, and Moe would sit on one of those pointy memo holder things. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-karl-pilkington-took-ricky-gervais-to-court/650165/12 "2013-02-13T19:54:38Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > What if Moe wanted to sue both Larry and Curly, Larry wanted to sue both Moe and Curly, and Curly wanted to sue both Moe and Larry? Would there be any way for the case to be handled in a single trial? Only in the jurisdiction of Niagara Falls.