Billboards vs. Larry Flynt

A large outdoor advertising company has agreed not to renew billboard ads for Larry Flynt's Hustler Hollywood store in Monroe, Ohio, when the two leasing contracts expire in February and September.

Kevin Reilly, ceo of Lamar Outdoor Advertising (Baton Rouge, La.), said he was swayed by the arguments of the local Citizens for Community Values (CCV), which said the text-only billboards along Route I-75 in Ohio's Butler and Warren counties “offended community standards.”

The Flynt family opened the store in late 2000 despite opposition from the CCV and Monroe officials.

Reilly said his company, which owns 160,000 billboard faces nationwide, does allow Hustler outdoor signs in other parts of the country, but that Lamar “felt it was very important for our company to comply with community standards” in northern Greater Cincinnati.

Jimmy Flynt, brother of Hustler founder Larry Flynt and business partner in the Cincinnati company's international adult-entertainment and publishing empire, criticized the company's decision and the CCV's efforts as “censorship.”

“Lamar is trying to appease a little segment of the population,” said Flynt, who oversees the store. “This is another battle we have to fight against censorship.”

CCV president Phil Burress called it “a huge victory,” arguing that children, riding along I-75, might inquire of their parents what the Hustler stores sell.

Shaking that reversal off, Larry Flynt will preside at the opening of his new Hustler adult nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach area. More than 70 different media organizations have confirmed that they will attend the ceremonies on Feb. 20, 2002, which includes an appearance by the club's Hustler Honeys.