That’s not a rationality quote at all, more a Dark Arts quote.
This quote isn’t about “all those bad critics,” it is about a specific critic (William Connor) who wrote an article in the Daily Mirror which implied that Liberace was gay. This was of course true, but Liberace denied it. He claimed his reputation was being damaged by this claim, and sued (successfully) for libel, winning quite a lot of money for 1956. Incidentally, the case set quite an important precedent in English libel law.
So the meaning of this quote, in context, is “I lied and feigned injury, and used the legal system to suppress the truth, and made a lot of money out of it.” That’s not rationality, that’s Dark Arts.
He used a similar response to subsequent poor reviews, famously modifying it to “I cried all the way to the bank.”
OTOH and not very much related: A gay man in his times in England could be jailed for homosexuality. No wonder he was forced to sue those, who pointed at him (rightfully or not). He has to protect himself.
That’s not a rationality quote at all, more a Dark Arts quote.
This quote isn’t about “all those bad critics,” it is about a specific critic (William Connor) who wrote an article in the Daily Mirror which implied that Liberace was gay. This was of course true, but Liberace denied it. He claimed his reputation was being damaged by this claim, and sued (successfully) for libel, winning quite a lot of money for 1956. Incidentally, the case set quite an important precedent in English libel law.
So the meaning of this quote, in context, is “I lied and feigned injury, and used the legal system to suppress the truth, and made a lot of money out of it.” That’s not rationality, that’s Dark Arts.
It is not what Wikipedia said:
OTOH and not very much related: A gay man in his times in England could be jailed for homosexuality. No wonder he was forced to sue those, who pointed at him (rightfully or not). He has to protect himself.