LAS VEGAS, NV – Clark County District Judge Valerie Adair declined Wednesday to block the broadcast of a televised political advertisement criticizing Republican lieutenant governor candidate Barbara Lee Woollen’s alleged business dealings with the adult video industry, saying that while the ad might be misleading, the ad is “not something that is based in an absolute falsehood.”Woollen sought a temporary restraining order to block airing of the ad, sponsored by her political opponent Brian Krolicki, asserting that it was inaccurate and untruthful.
The ad states that Cinelease, a movie equipment rental business owned by Woollen, does business with the adult film industry and impugns Woollen’s voting record, saying that she has not voted in a Republican primary in 12 years.
As proof, the ad cites California and Nevada voter registration files and the presence of Cinelease’s name in the credits of several “adult films,” including Women: Stories of Passion, Dead Sexy, and Red Shoe Diaries.
Woollen has not specifically denied the allegations pertaining to her voting record, but took issue with the claims about ties to the porn industry. Woollen contends that the movies in question aren’t porn at all, but R-rated movies.
Judge Adair, however, said that there’s enough truth in the claims that she’s not inclined to issue an injunction blocking broadcast of the ad.
“Many political ads are exaggerated and they are misleading and I myself have been a victim of one of those ads,” said Adair, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. “The bottom line however, is that this is not something that is based in an absolute falsehood. Whether it is exaggerated or not, there is some truth here.”
Woollen’s attorney, John Wawerna, told the Gazette-Journal that Woollen will still pursue her libel and slander lawsuit against Krolicki and some members of his campaign staff.
“This is not a lawsuit that is going to die when the campaign concludes by its natural death,” Wawerna said.
Krolicki said he isn’t worried about Woollen’s lawsuit and will continue to buy time for the ad to run on stations in Reno and Las Vegas.
“The Woollen camp can continue to pursue any suit it wants,” Krolicki said. “It does not change the underlying fact that the ad contains the truth.”
Krolicki added that Judge Adair’s decision was “indicative of any future litigation that the Woollen folks can bring on,” and that the “truth is the truth and litigation can’t hide that and whatever she determines, we will meet her in the courtroom.”
McKay Daniels, Krolicki’s campaign manager, said the films are not rated but contain “X-rated material.”
The Motion Picture Association of America gave Dead Sexy an R rating for “strong sexuality and nudity, and for some language,” according to IMDB.com. Neither Women: Stories of Passion, nor Red Shoe Diaries have been rated by the MPAA.
Daniels told the Gazette-Journal that Women: Stories of Passion contained homosexual acts between two women, but admitted that he only watched part of the movie.
“To be honest,” Daniels said, “it is a three-disk set and by the end of the first disk, I had had enough.”
Nevada’s primary election will be held next Tuesday, August 15th.
