March 26, 1981: Carol Burnett Beats The National Enquirer

March 26, 1981: Carol Burnett kicks The National Enquirer's ass -- with help from a jury.

In January 1976, the already-legendary comedienne, whose TV variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, was still airing on CBS, went out for a quiet dinner in the tony Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. She shared a few glasses of wine with her husband, singer turned TV producer Joe Hamilton, and some friends. On her way out, she was briefly introduced to the United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. They exchanged a few polite words, parted ways, and went home. And everyone figured that was the end of it. It wouldn't be worth reporting.

But a few weeks later, The National Enquirer, American's trashiest national tabloid "newspaper," published a story about the dinner. It said that Burnett was drunk and disruptive, had argued with Kissinger, spilled wine on another guest, and laughed it off.

Because of his work with Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, Kissinger was one of the most admired men in America, but also one of the most hated, by staunch liberals and arch-conservatives alike. So a story that a Hollywood-based celebrity had argued with Kissinger was very believable. But most people had never heard about Carol Burnett getting drunk in public -- because she didn't do that, and hadn't done so on this occasion.

What the Enquirer's readers didn't know was that the paper's source had explicitly said she wasn't drunk. The tabloid ran the story, anyway.

Burnett saw the article, and was outraged. Both of her parents had been alcoholics, and she had long spoken openly about it, in the hope that it might help others. Now, a false story had publicly tied her to something she had spent years addressing with honesty and care. And things quickly changed. People began treating her differently. They began to assume that she had also become an alcoholic.

Her lawyers warned her that suing the Enquirer would be costly, difficult, and likely unsuccessful. She sued, anyway, and the paper's case was taken apart. After hours of deliberation, the jury reached its conclusion: The tabloid had acted with reckless disregard for the truth. She was awarded damages of $1.6 million. After appeals, it was reduced to $200,000, but the money didn't matter: She got her good name back, and the Enquirer was forever branded as irresponsible and dishonest.

As historian James Fell put it: "For many, it signaled something important, that even public figures have a right to defend the truth about themselves. Burnett later made it clear that the case was never about money. What mattered to her was something more lasting: how her story would be remembered. Because once something is printed, it doesn’t just disappear. It lingers, in records, in archives, in memory. She wasn’t just challenging a lie in the present. She was protecting the truth for the future."

Unfortunately, the fight took its toll on her family. Her daughters, Carrie and Erin Hamilton, both fell victim to drug and alcohol addiction. Although Carrie beat it, and established an acting career of her own, she died of unrelated cancer in 2002, only 38 years old. As of March 26, 2022, Erin is still alive, but has continued to struggle. Carol and Joe also had a son, Jody Hamilton, who followed his father into TV production.

Joe was Carol's 2nd husband, and they were married from 1963 until their divorce in 1984. Since 2001, Carol has been married to Brian Miller, a much-younger drummer.

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March 26, 1981 was a Thursday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 115-107 at The Omni in Atlanta. James Edwards scored 31 points for the Pacers. Eddie Johnson scored 36 points in defeat.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 137-109 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA (now the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena).

* And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 98-97 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Calgary Flames, 8-2 at the Montreal Forum. Pierre Larouche had 3 goals and an assist. Mark Napier had a goal and 3 assists.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Washington Capitals beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.