Would this be considered slander?

[breakaway]

On a show that I will make, one of my characters makes an off-hand remark that a certain hollywood celebrity is "crazy".

 

[quincy]

No. Calling someone crazy is considered rhetorical hyperbole - it is not meant to be taken as a diagnosis of a mental illness and most people would not take it to mean someone was mentally ill. If, however, you had your character say that someone was a sociopath or psychopath, then that could be taken as slanderous, depending on the context in which this was said, because those are actual mental disorders.

Calling someone crazy is like calling someone an idiot or a fool or weird or strange - just opinion and/or hyperbole and perfectly legal, although not very nice.

(in addition, if your character is referring to a Hollywood celebrity, chances are "crazy" would also be the truth - which is a defense to defamation )

 

[breakaway]

" chances are "crazy" would also be the truth - which is a defense to defamation"

I know you were half-joking there, but I think that would actually hold up in court. I mean, if the person had been seeing psychiatric help, then they legitimately could be said to be "crazy".

 

[quincy]

"Crazy" really is not a medical term, but, yes, it could be considered "truth" if someone were seeking psychiatric help, and you used crazy as a slang term. So, pretty much, "crazy" is a pretty safe word to use all the way around.