Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is carving out a name for himself this cycle as the reverse Donald Trump of the rape gaffe. Where Trump is putting up millions of dollars to prove racially-tinged theories about President Obama’s past, Flynt is promising some of his fortune to disprove eyebrow-raising statements about rape and abortion.
His next target: Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin.
On Sunday, Flynt will run a full-page ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch promising a $1 million reward for Akin if the Republican can provide “proof to substantiate” his infamous line, “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down.”
Tongue firmly in cheek, Flynt calls on Akin to back up the statement in his full-page ad.
Please send me evidence that supports your special knowledge that women who are raped will naturally not get pregnant. I assume you would never have ventured such an original statement about women’s reproductive biology, and suggested that women should have no fear of unwanted pregnancy from rapists, unless have in your possession completely conclusive evidence.
The offer expires at 11:59 PM Monday night.
TPM came across the ad after the Post-Dispatch apparently posted it online early. Flynt’s spokesperson confirmed the ad as real, and the full version as set to run in Sunday’s paper is below.
Akin is the latest Republican left scrambling after comments about rape to catch Flynt’s eye. He already ran one of his full-page newspaper ads targeting Richard Mourdock, the Indiana Senate candidate who polls show is flailing after his comments about rape, conception and God’s will.
Flynt’s newspaper ad trick also showed up in the presidential race. Back in September, he offered a million bucks to anyone with verifiable information about the contents of Mitt Romney’s tax returns
Flynt’s ad going after Akin is below. See a larger version here.
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