Laurence Fox, Drag Race’s Crystal and Simon Blake litigate over Twitter row

The participants in a high-profile Twitter squabble have been rebuked by a judge, and advised to end their litigious stand-off over "such a pointless exchange".

Former London mayoral candidate Laurence Fox is being sued by mental health campaigner and former vice chair of LGBT charity Stonewall Simon Blake, Coronation Street actress Nicola Thorp and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Crystal,  for calling them "paedophiles" in separate Twitter threads.

Despite initially stating "[If] you throw meaningless and baseless insults at someone, you get a meaningless and baseless insult in return…People can call me whatever they want", Fox is countersuing because the public figures called him a "racist" after Fox hit out at Sainsbury’s in 2020 for creating a safe space for black staff.

Fox was, he said, "minded to apply for a trial by jury, given that the counterclaims concern the accusation of racism in a highly charged political climate", in a ruling published three days before Christmas 2021.

Senior Master Fontaine, referring to the affair as an "unattractive Twitter spat", said she has "very serious doubts whether any such application would be likely to succeed".

She added: "It would seem incredible to most ordinary people that the parties are prepared to spend what could amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds on such a pointless exchange…

There are many more useful ways in which the parties, all apparently intelligent and talented people, could expend their energy and resources. I urge them to consider seriously how they might find a way to reach a compromise and end this dispute."

It seems most unlikely, in this case, that the epithets exchanged will result in lasting harm to the reputation of the participants and the participants in this case would do well to heed the Master's words.

Defamation of Character

However, defamation – including slander, libel, and malicious falsehood – can be extremely damaging.

Reputation is a crucial asset to any business or brand, as well as being vital to individuals. The advent of digital platforms and media has made a person's or a business’s public image increasingly vulnerable. Reputations can be attacked instantly, repeatedly, often anonymously, and an image that has taken years to build up left in smoking ruins.

Defamation claims and other methods of reputation management, such as right to be forgotten requests and applications for erasure under the GDPR, can be powerful tools in preventing and combating this sort of destruction.

If you have been the victim of defamation of character, online, in a newspaper, or in any other way, you should seek legal advice as quickly as possible. 

Swift, decisive intervention, rapid crisis response, and strategies to help prevent the disclosure of confidential information, as well as litigation, can limit or negate damage. If you have been a victim of libel, defamation, or an attack on your reputation, seek the expert help Samuels offers by contacting us today.

Article Credit: Lalla Merlin