The Exotic Erotic Ball on Friday night honored Larry Flynt with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong efforts in protecting First Amendment Rights.
The award will be presented to Flynt at the Cow Palace during the Exotic Erotic Expo, the night before the Exotic Erotic Ball.
The Exotic Erotic Ball is now in its 26th year and has expanded its format to include the Expo, which features panel discussions on free speech and First Amendment issues. The First Amendment Project is a beneficiary of the event and has been instrumental in the creation of the award.
"Larry Flynt is a man of conviction who has never shied away from controversy," Perry Mann, founder of the Exotic Erotic Ball, said last week when making the announcement that Flynt would be so honored. "His contribution to free speech and First Amendment issues is both substantial and unquestionable. People frivolously use expressions like 'taking a bullet for a cause' and 'putting your money where your mouth is.' Well - this man literally took a bullet to protect the U.S. Constitution and has literally used his extensive wealth to root out corrupt politicians and defend unjust lawsuits in cases involving attempts to curtail our freedom of expression. There is no better recipient for this award, and I am proud, thankful, and humbled to be able to help present it to Mr. Flynt."
Flynt, the founder of Hustler and LFP Inc., was shot by white supremacist John Paul Franklin on March 6, 1978 while leaving a Lawrenceville, Ga. courthouse involving a legal battle regarding obscenity. That same year Flynt created the Flynt Foundation for Human Development. The foundation assists workers and business owners in the adult industry who are battling legislative issues in the adult industry, or legal prosecution on municipal, state or federal levels.
Flynt's landmark Supreme Court case, decided February 24, 1988, pitted him against conservative Jerry Falwell and polarized him with the Moral Majority. He brought down Senator Bob Livingston on Dec. 19, 1999, a big factor in preventing the impeachment of then-President Clinton, and received over 15,000 votes in California's recall gubernatorial race which placed Arnold Schwarzenegger in office.
Photo of Perry Mann and Flynt courtesy of Dave Patrick.
