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Comedian sued over one in-law joke too many

Wednesday 26 August 2009 09:49 BST
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A comedian is being sued by her mother-in-law after making her the punchline of too many jokes.

The mother-in-law is accusing Sunda Croonquist of spreading false, defamatory and racist lies with in-law jokes that have become a staple of her routine in American nightclubs and TV.

To Croonquist the in-law jokes seemed like a natural routine after living through one comical culture-clash moment after another: she is half-black, half-Swedish, grew up Roman Catholic and married into a Jewish family. But things changed after Croonquist, promoting gigs in New Jersey, posted information on her website that, according to her in-laws, allowed anyone to figure out their identities.

Her lawyer has filed a motion to have the suit dismissed, and a judge is scheduled to hear it on 8 September.

The lawsuit was filed by mother-in-law Ruth Zafrin, her daughter Shelley Edelman and Mrs Edelman's husband Neil.

From The Belfast Telegraph

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