The Todd & Michelle Schnitt versus Bubba the Love Sponge Clem defamation trial continued today Tuesday in the Hillsborough County Court after a 3 day weekend break to accommodate the MLK day holiday Monday.
Former Bubba the Love Sponge Show cast member Matt Lloyd, known as Spice Boy, gave evidence today. Mr Lloyd was part of the show when it returned to terrestrial radio in 2008 and was present for much of the "radio war" that ensued. Mr Lloyd can still be heard on 102.5 the Bone in his Nights with Spice show.
Mr Lloyd stated during his testimony that he liked radio wars because they were fun, and the point was to win in the ratings. When asked about the use of the word whore to describe Mrs Schnitt, Mr Lloyd stated that the word was used to stir things up and was not used to suggest that Mrs Schnitt was a prostitute or promiscuous. He seemed slightly bemused when asked if the use of the "price's right" music was used to infer something about Mrs Schnitt, and denied that this was the case.
After Mr Lloyd, current Bubba the Love Sponge Show cast member & Executive Producer Brent Hatley took the stand. Mr Hatley, a former candidate for St Petersburg City Council, was asked a number of similar questions and also explained the inner workings of the Arbitron Radio rating system.
All the court action can be viewed here during proceedings
During his testimony, Mr Hatley maintained that the object of criticism was MJ Kelli, and that MJ was a character played by Mr Schnitt on the radio. He said that MJ Kelli was not a real person, in the same manner that the terminator is a character portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mr Hatley was asked about the whore reference to Mrs Schnitt and if it had harmed her. He stated that in his opinion Mrs Schnitt had not been harmed in any way.
Then it was the turn of Mr Schnitt himself to take the stand. Mr Schnitt began his testimony with a very extensive account of his radio background, right back to when he listened to the radio when he was a child. A number of emails were entered into evidence. These emails contained abusive mocking language, referring to Mr Schnitt as being a "pussy" and having "pubic hair on his head". Mr Schitt stated that prior to The Bubba the Love Sponge Show returning to terrestrial radio, he had never received emails such as these.
Mr Schnitt also recounted an incident when his home and yard had been "egged" and how he had to cancel a Mothers day lunch in order to clean up the mess. During the clean up Mr Schnitt said he found a note mentioning "Bubba Army". He also mentioned that after this incident he had cctv cameras installed at considerable expense. Mr Schnitt also mentioned that his first call was not to law enforcement but to his attorney. He apparently did not call Police to report the incident for a few days.
The trial continues Wednesday
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