Jack Cafferty, aka CNN's Grumpy Old Man, has been known to spout off from time to time and go on rants, but they were nothing more harmful than the news equivalent of "damn kids and their rock music these days." But it looks like one of his ramblings ticked off a couple of people enough that they found some creative lawyers and sued the heck out of Cafferty and his bosses.According to Reuters, a beautician and a Beijing-based primary schoolteacher are suing Cafferty and CNN $1.3 billion for, the article says, "violating the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people." The lawsuit is being filed in New York. According to one of the suit's lawyers,"The $1.3 billion averages out to $1 per Chinese person, so it isn't much." He apparently said that with a completely straight face.
Cafferty is being sued for saying that the Chinese make "junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food." But this little tag is what probably got him in trouble: "They're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years." Yikes. I'd put a "get off my lawn" joke here, but it seems completely unnecessary.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-24-2008 @ 1:52PM
eugene said...
god, this is even more absurd than the guy who got sued by a seller on Ebay for leaving neutral feedback.
I'd boycott "made in china" but thanks to our political leaders brilliant strategy of choking nearly all manufacturing jobs out of this country, i'll just have to be sure I buy "made in taiwan" whenever possible.. just so I feel like I'm doing my part to stick it to the chinese.
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4-24-2008 @ 2:26PM
tv junkie said...
totally agreed. also wear that "free tibet" t-shirt too.
It's amazing how people started to overlook their awful record of human rights record just because everyone think they can make money there. it's also alarming when China is saving the U.S. economic crisis...
How about the U.S., and the rest of the world, sue China for selling people poorly made crap and counterfeiting other countries' brand?
4-24-2008 @ 2:01PM
Carissa said...
First of all, get over the name calling. How in the hell does what he says constitute a violation of the dignity of the Chinese people? Does every Chinese person hold themselves personally accountable for making the second rate products they send over here? I doubt it.
I'm so sick of this shite.
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4-24-2008 @ 5:10PM
Franklin said...
He tells the truth and gets sued. What a wonderful world.
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4-24-2008 @ 4:04PM
chgosaint said...
Um, yeah... and in other news, China does sell toys with lead paint and has put poison in dog food. How many recalls have their been on Chinese products? I want tariffs of $1 for every good that China sends to America that has been recalled. That makes $1.3 billion look like chump change. I hope the Chinese have to answer about whether or not they have defective products in a court of law. Does an oath mean anything to people who do not believe in a god?
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4-24-2008 @ 4:40PM
Cincinnati Mike said...
The commies will sell us the rope with which to hang ourselves. But it will probably be defective.
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4-24-2008 @ 4:54PM
eugene said...
haha, so true. Reminds me of after 9/11 when everyone ran out and bought a little car flag, or a bumper sticker or a lapel pin of the american flag... all made in china.
I didn't buy one as a sign of my patriotism.
4-24-2008 @ 5:44PM
Paul said...
it's not the truth that's the problem, it's the second part of the statement that's the problem. "They're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years." I do find that a little racist. I mean if someone said that about say another group of people, they'd be a little upset.
But I wonder if the Chinese government wins, will each person in China get to keep the $1 they made from the lawsuit.
And no, I find that whole thing about Americans calling for free tibet completely hypocritical, and I'm an American. Would you free all the indian reservations if they called for that? Cause we are occupying their land. They were here first. I do think though the Chinese government should work out something similar with Tibet as we did with the Native Americans. Don't ask another government to do what our government isn't willing to do.
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4-24-2008 @ 11:13PM
bsgfan2003 said...
The Chinese government sends work squads to monasteries and nunneries for "patriotic re-education". The Chinese government also bans certain prayer ceremonies.
I hope I'm not alone in saying that I find that sick.
Freedom is a beautiful thing.
4-24-2008 @ 11:42PM
Franklin said...
The words "goons" and "thugs" mean someone, usually of questionable intelligence, hired to intimidate or injure someone. How is that racist?
Calling the Chinese "goons and thugs" isn't making a racist comment, it's a comment on the actions of a government that stifles freedom and treats human life as if it holds no value. Cafferty is spot-on with his comments and is only being sued because he hit a nerve with his blunt truths.
4-24-2008 @ 11:16PM
J-Lai said...
Come on...we all know that it's totally cool to call the Chinese whatever Americans want to. You know, 'cause they're not black and as long as they're not black it's totally okay to knock on them. ...Douchebags.
And about Tibet, shut up. America has nothing to do with them. Let Tibet stand up for themselves. If they lose, that's on them. We're not their keepers.
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4-25-2008 @ 1:15AM
bsgfan2003 said...
I have two family members that have lived in China for 4 + years. They say that the Chinese PEOPLE were wonderful, generous and kind. I'm saying I don't like the restrictions on freedom. My family could only attend Mass at the Canadian Embassy. Also, their email and mail were monitored.
Your views on Tibet are disturbing. How is Tibet to stand up for themselves?
4-25-2008 @ 8:31AM
J-Lai said...
"How is Tibet to stand up for themselves?" The same way other sovereignties in the world are supposed to. Almost any smaller nation (read: all) that are in opposition to China will be in this 1 versus a million scenario. It sucks, but remember when we decided to protect people that have nothing (well...less than Tibet) to with us in the Middle East?
Look, I'm not saying what China's doing is right. I'm also not saying, "hey let Tibet die!" What I am saying is it's not our fight. And it's definitely not worth losing one of--if not *the*--biggest economic powerhouses in the world as a trading partner.
4-25-2008 @ 8:30PM
eugene said...
Nice... who needs morals when we can get cheap crap at walmart.
4-25-2008 @ 3:37AM
michael said...
Generalizing about a whole group of people (1.3 billion or so) as though they are all responsible for each other's actions does seem a bit racist in that it implies they're all the same. The vast majority of the Chinese population is in no way to blame for the lead toys issue, or the government's policies. The problem is that people keep saying the Chinese when they mean the Chinese government, and other similar equivocations.
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4-25-2008 @ 2:19PM
Franklin said...
I believe you've hit at the heart of the matter. Cafferty was obviously referring to the Chinese government when he made his comments, but he only said, "the Chinese". Even though he should've picked his words better and included "government" in his comments, had he done so I firmly believe he still would've been sued.
The biggest problem on this planet is not evil governments, it's lawyers.