A dispute over whether an Orange County, CA surf shop displayed an adult magazine where children could see it is being watched in large part because of questions about whether the surf shop unwittingly walked into a war between Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt.
Schlessinger's radio program manager, however, says the dispute about Flynt publishing old, pre-fame nude photographs of the popular psychologist and host in March "has nothing to do with Dr. Laura's concern about sexualising children at an appropriate age." In fact, according to the Orange County Register, Schlessinger and Flynt have never even met.
The latest dispute began last Sunday, when Schlessinger and her son went T-shirt shopping at Beach Access. The Register says she spotted another Flynt publication, Big Brother Skateboarder, in a magazine pile displayed for customers to read.
Schlessinger asked whether the manager knew the magazine was pornographic and connected to Flynt, the Register continues. The manager said he didn't know the connection and didn't believe it was porn, but Schlessinger announced she wouldn't buy at the store and left with her son.
That might have been the end of the story, but the next day, Beach Access owner Tom Moore heard Schlessinger recap the incident on the air, telling her audience Beach Access put the magazine out deliberately. She apparently referred to the magazine as Hustler under the guise of Big Brother Skateboarder.
Big Brother managing editor Dave Carnie told the Register the magazine deals in graphic writing but does not publish nude photographs. "Dr. Laura's right," Craine told the paper. The pornography in the magazine is well-hidden, because I haven't seen it either."
Moore told the Register he thinks the real issue is Schlessinger's feud with Flynt over nude photographs of the psychologist taken years before she became a celebrity - photographs Flynt published in Hustler in March. He told the paper all Schlessinger had to do was ask him about it and he'd have told her he doesn't support pornography at all.
But her radio program's manager, Kevin Bellows, says that if the Beach Access manager had simply said Big Brother was inappropriate and put it away right away, there would have been no problem. Bellows, says an on-air apology might be possible depending on a discussion between Schlessinger and Moore, whom Bellows says has been "very courteous…express(ing) remorse about this." Moore, though, isn't really sure if it is remorse, the Register notes, considering the impact upon his business.