All persons fictitious disclaimer
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An all persons fictitious disclaimer is a disclaimer in which a work of fictional media states that all persons portrayed in it are completely fictitious. This is done so to avoid the possibility of legal action for libel; i.e. if a person believes that he or she receives unfair portrayal in a fictitious work (either under their real name or a made-up name), the possibility of legal action is open to them.
Such a disclaimer often reads similarly to the following:
- All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The wording of this particular disclaimer differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and in particular from country to country, as does its legal effectiveness.
The disclaimer originated with the 1932 MGM movie, Rasputin and the Empress, which insinuated that the character Princess Natasha had been raped by Rasputin. Natasha's character was supposedly intended to represent Princess Irina of Russia, and the real Princess Irina sued MGM for libel. After seeing the film twice, the jury agreed that the princess had been defamed. Since this suit, many movies have used the disclaimer to protect themselves from court action.
[edit] Comedy purposes
Because the disclaimer is intended for serious purposes, it is often the subject of comedic satire. A modified version of the disclaimer appears at the beginning of every episode of South Park, which states that "all celebrity voices herein are impersonated... poorly." In the film An American Werewolf in London, the disclaimer refers to "persons living, dead or undead". An episode of the TV series Red Dwarf included a news report saying an ancient scroll had been found containing such a disclaimer for the Bible. The novel Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut features a truncated version of the disclaimer: "All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental, and should not be construed," referring to the novel's existentialist themes.
[edit] References
- Hulton v Jones [1910] AC 20
