It has been 75 years since Larry Flynt entered the world in Magoffin County, Kentucky, population 12,913.The big, sprawling, confounding real life he has lived since would not be believed if it were fiction:
Self-made millionaire (Celebrity Net Worth says his is at least $500 million), whose empire started in a string of bars-turned-strip-clubs in Ohio.
Which led to him being a world-famous pornographer with Hustler magazine.
Which led to the ire of polite society, women who felt demeaned by his products, would-be censors and even a would-be assassin.
Which led to him being in Gwinnett County, Georgia, to answer obscenity charges when a white-supremacist sniper (the same one who later would also try to kill political, business and civil rights titan Vernon Jordan) shot him, and led to Flynts partial paralysis and being in a wheelchair since 1978.
Which led to legal tangles that earned Flynt a reputation as a First Amendment crusader and free-speech advocate.
Which led him to the U.S. Supreme Court and a place in legal history as the victor of a suit in 1988 that was brought against him by evangelist Jerry Falwell, who was the subject of a lewd, insulting parody published in Hustler.
Which led him to being the subject of a Milos Forman-directed film about his life, free speech and that lawsuit (Woody Harrelson played him).
Which led him to being part of our culture, for better or worse, since shortly after he left Magoffin County.
And, oh yeah, about that: According to his official bio, he was fresh from Magoffin and working as a naval radar operator on the USS Enterprise when it helped recover John Glenn and his capsule from their splashdown near the Bahamas in the ocean after the Mercury astronauts three orbits of the Earth.
And, oh yeah, again: Did you know he and Falwell became friends after the dust, and the suit, had settled?
Who knew?
How do you even begin to talk to someone with this life story? This is a book, a binge-worthy Netflix series, not a 2,000-word interview.
But the idea for this longer than 2,000-word interview started here:
About every eight years or so, the hypocrisy of politicians will goad Magoffins most famous son into opening his checkbook and offering a $1 million reward, call it a freelance bounty, for information leading to the exposure of deeds that Flynt feels are damaging our democracy, or which offend his sense of decorum (yes, he has one). His most famous results came during President Clintons impeachment in the 1990s. Flynt most recently resurrected the reward last fall, when he placed a $1 million price tag on verifiable footage or recordings showing Donald Trump, now president, engaged in illegal activity, or in a sexually demeaning or derogatory manner.
Contact was made with his Beverly Hills, California, headquarters, and a few months later we were on the phone talking about Kentucky, politics, Trump and Flynts own reading habits.
Before hanging up, Larry Flynt said, I hope you dont get fired.
LEO: You left Magoffin County about 50 years ago. Has Magoffin County ever left you?
Larry Flynt: Oh, I dont think it ever does. I kind of subscribe to Thomas Wolfes philosophy, who said: You cant go home again. But in a way I disagree with that. I miss Kentucky. I miss growing up there.
Some of the best years of my life, you know. We didnt have nothing. We didnt expect much out of life. It was a very simple life, and its something you can really learn to miss when youre out in the real world.
I miss squirrel hunting. I used to do that a lot when I was a kid.
Good or bad, how did Kentucky leave its imprint on you?
I dont think it left any kind of imprint, other than we all come from somewhere. Its those formative years that are important. Many of my family members have never left Magoffin County. Theyve lived there their whole lives. Thats their whole world down there. Its that simple life we all miss, that we were raised in.
Do you think people would be surprised to hear you say that?
Probably, because most people dont know me.
Whats the biggest misconception about you?
Everybody thinks Im a seedy old man in a basement, grinding out pornography every month. But Im really a businessman who has a vast empire thats worldwide, with a broadcast television business, a casino gaming business, a retail business, internet, publishing. Were very widely diversified, and we operate in 57 different countries.
When you were describing your business empire a moment ago, except for the steaks, the vodka and the water, it sounded similar to Mr. Trumps.
[Laughs] No, I think were miles apart. I know Mr. Trump. Ive never met another man in my life who has an ego as big as he does. His whole world is about him, not about anybody else. I care about people. I dont think he does.
Do you think Kentucky has anything to do with what you did and how you did it?
Yes and no. Ever since I was a small child, Ive always questioned authority, Ive always questioned government, Ive always questioned religion, Ive always thought there was more to the world than Magoffin County. I always had a world vision. When I left, I realized there was a different world out there ... I always wanted to be an achiever. I never stopped. All my life, I was like a sponge I absorbed things. I always remained curious. I think thats the key to success ...
... There are a lot of things that go into being successful. You can either be made stronger by your failures, or you can be made weaker they can destroy you. I seem to always learn from my failures, rather than to have a defeatist attitude.
Like much of Kentucky, your home county has people who are poor and jobless and recently voted overwhelmingly for Republican candidates who want to end Obamacare and other benefits. Do you understand that?
I understand it. Unfortunately, I wished they understood it a little bit better. At the beginning, our founding fathers didnt want everybody to vote. They only wanted property owners to vote, because [James] Madison and the other founding fathers were concerned that an unintelligent electorate could be very dangerous to a democracy. And thats what we got with the situation with Trump. I agree that the government should do something to help. They should bring other industry into the area, but for them to cast a vote for him like hes going to wave a magic wand and bring all the jobs back, thats not going to happen.
Did you talk to any of your family members who are still there, and who they were going to vote for and why?
I dont discuss politics with them because most of them are Republicans. Im progressive liberal. Im about as far left as you can get.
Have you always been that way?
Yes. I realized that the advances weve made as a culture have come through a progressive administration, not a conservative administration whether thats the industrial revolution, the technology revolution or whatever. Its always come from progressive people. The only thing Republicans do is try to hold us down.
Speaking of which, Kentucky is a small state by population and with a fair number of challenges, but with Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, Kentucky seems to have disproportionate power nationally. What do you think of McConnell and Paul?
Theyre the worst of the worst. That whole Republican Party. Im not saying that Republicans are racists, but Im saying, if youre a racist and youre looking for a party, the Republicans are your party. These recent cuts that theyve made how could they cut Meals on Wheels? Its a tiny fraction of the budget that cant be measured. It enables old people to get a meal. One of the cruelest things Ive ever heard of.
The senators from your former state what do you think about them and the power these two guys from a small, relatively poor state wield nationally?
Mitch McConnell is nothing more than an obstructionist for the Republican Party, and Rand Paul is not making much headway on selling his version of civil liberties. I dont think hes going to go anywhere politically.
You have offered rewards in the past to flush out hypocritical politicians, most famously during the Clinton years. You have brought back the $1 million reward for (information about) Trump. Why did you do that and did you get anything?
I got a lot of stuff. Remember, the big misconception in Washington when you think of scandal [is] if its money, they think Republican, and if its sex, they think its Democrats. Its really the complete opposite. If its sex its Republicans; money, its Democrats. But almost all politicians are corrupt to a certain degree, and the only way you can get people to talk is to pay them money. Ive been criticized for doing that, but I see absolutely nothing wrong with paying for information if its correct. If its not correct, they have libel laws they can use to sue you for. We always try to keep the politicians honest.
I didnt see that you revealed anything with the reward before the election. Is that $1 million still there for people who can provide information about Mr. Trump?
Yes. If they can deliver anything we can publish, we pay it. But I dont deal in National Enquirer kind of gossip. If its a videotape, we have to authenticate it. If its a photograph, we have to authenticate it, you know. Its not just doing an interview with someone saying they slept with Donald Trump. Probably a thousand girls would fit that description.
Youre still working on this?
We have several cases that were working on. We cant discuss them because we havent confirmed anything. Theres going to be another shoe or two to drop you can rest assured of that.
In interviews last year and earlier this year, you were talking about a lack of decorum in the campaign and the election. What does it take to appall Larry Flynt?
Whatever comes out of his [Trumps] mouth, he lies. Weve never had a president like this in all the history of the country. And he gets away with it. And the press let him get away with it. They keep replaying those tweets of his, and they dont call him out on their shows, even back when he was running for president. They should have told him: If you want to come on our show, you have to tell the truth. You dont tell the truth, you cant be on the show. Trump has to have his publicity. If they cut him off of that, thats his lifeline.
You think their biggest failing was not to point out earlier every time that he was not telling the truth.
Absolutely. Not only not pointing out, but not telling him he couldnt come back on the air unless he apologized, and that if he lied again, theyd bar him completely. So what, he goes to Fox. Let him go to Fox with the rest of the degenerates over there. Mainstream news has lots of other news to cover.
Whats the scariest part of all that to you?
The scariest part is that the First Amendment has lost its value. We pay a price for everything. The price we pay to live in a free society is toleration. We have to tolerate things we dont necessarily like so we can be free. But we dont have to tolerate lies. No broadcasting company, and no newspaper, should be allowed to print them. Its one thing to take an editorial position and even if youre staking out a position thats completely wrong, at least youre giving it as an opinion. But to make a factual statement thats incorrect, youre crossing a line.
You went to the U.S. Supreme Court over a parody. Every day people are being hit with fake news stories about fake news and actual fake news. What do you think about this, and whats the difference between the two (fake news and parody), and where do you think were going to end up with this?
I watched on the History Channel a documentary on [former Italian fascist leader Benito] Mussolini a while back. And hes got all of Trumps mannerisms, and he talks just like [him]. Part of Mussolinis philosophy was: If you tell a lie often enough, people will start believing you. You have people who only believe what they read on the internet. Theyre what we call the low-hanging fruit. Theyre the low-information voters. They dont need factual information to guess their vote. Thats whats so dangerous about the lies being spread theyll just blindly make up their own mind based on something they read on the internet.
What do we do about this?
We have to be diligent. We have to guard against it. And like I said, unless mainstream media gets a spine and starts to stand up on this matter, I dont think we ever can correct. Theyre the elephant in the room. They have to be out front, taking a strong position on behalf of their viewers, that theyre not going to tolerate this.
Do you ever pick up the phone and call the editors of The Washington Post or The New York Times or, out where you are, The Los Angeles Times? Or would they take your call?
Youd be surprised at the people who take my calls. I dont want to drop names, but Ive even surprised myself when I wanted to reach somebody and Im able to get to them.
Do you think people respect this part of your life and your career, that you have made First Amendment law?
I think they respect the fact that my case was one of the most important First Amendment cases decided in the history of our country, making parody and satire protected speech, and eliminated the fact you could no longer collect damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress you had to prove libel first. That was a huge, huge victory for the First Amendment. I think a lot of publishers are grateful this law is on the books.
Ive read where you say you celebrate women. A lot of women would disagree with that. What do you mean by that?
I love women, I worship women. The only people that will disagree with you are some of the feminists around the country, but I dont think they speak for most American women.
The word pussy has entered our lexicon. Women wear hats that look like vaginas. Do you think youve had anything to do with any of this?
No. I think Trumps got that hat to wear. Hes done more to degrade and dehumanize women than anyone I know of.
What do you read every day?
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, every day.
What about favorite books?
I was book-of-the-month club for many years. Ive been an avid book reader up until the last few years. I like biographies of successful people, like... [Winston] Churchill, people like that. I find them very inspiring.
If you have a headstone and an epitaph on it, what will it be?
They told me I couldnt take my money with me, so I decided not to go.
I dont think much about epitaphs. I just want them to drop me in the ground and write my name on my shoe sole.
Is that how they do it in Magoffin County?
Yeah.