The publisher of FishbowlDC finally responded to the defamation lawsuit filed in January by D.C.-area publicist Wendy Gordon. In a curtly phrased answer filed earlier this week in D.C. Superior Court, Mediabistro is standing by the “Wendy Wednesday” series of posts by Betsy Rothstein and Peter Ogburn as satire protected by the First Amendment.

Gordon filed her suit in January, alleging that for about a year between fall 2011 and October 2012, Rothstein, FishbowlDC’s editor, and Ogburn, a contributor waged an “unprovoked, online smear campaign” by publishing posts that made racy jokes about photos Gordon uploaded to her Facebook profile. Among the items that FishbowlDC published were a post featuring Gordon posing with a wax figure of Marion Barry in which Ogburn mused that Gordon was “wishing she was working the waxy wang” of D.C.’s mayor-for-life, and another in which Gordon was described as “down to fuck.”

In its response, Mediabistro, which is owned by WebMediaBrands Inc., denies that Rothstein and Ogburn’s posts, which have been removed from FishbowlDC, were an intrusion on Gordon’s privacy and were defamatory.

“To the contrary, the commentary in the postings, when viewed together with the photographs of Plaintiff taken in public places that accompanied the postings, represents satire, opinion, hyperbole and other expressions of speech squarely protected by the First Amendment and District of Columbia law, or is otherwise not defamatory,” the answer reads.

Mediabistro’s answer also claims that Gordon’s line of work constitutes her status as a public figure, though her lawsuit states that she is not and was only made known to FishbowlDC’s readers by means of the “Wendy Wednesday” series. In fact, the answer denies nearly every one of Gordon’s allegations. All that the response admits is that the posts were written, that Rothstein is employed by Mediabistro and lives in the District of Columbia, and that Ogburn is one of FishbowlDC’s contributors.

The response also claims that the posts were written without malice and that Gordon took the “Wendy Wednesday” posts too literally.

Gordon, who argues that the FishbowlDC content impacted her publicity business, is suing for $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The first pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 19.