Laurence Fox ordered to pay £180,000 to two people he called ‘paedophiles’

A famous actor and political activist known for his conservative views, Laurence Fox, has been instructed to compensate £90k to two individuals he defamed by labeling them "pedophiles" on various online platforms.

On Thursday in London, a judge at the high court issued an order. Fox had his libel case dismissed in January by Mrs Justice Collins Rice due to him defaming two individuals by accusing them of being paedophiles. This came after the two had accused him of racism.

Last October 2020, the founder of the Reclaim party got sued by a former trustee of Stonewall named Simon Blake and a drag performer named Crystal. This was due to an argument that took place on X, which used to be known as Twitter.

Fox, who is 45 years old, used a derogatory term directed towards both Blake and Colin Seymour, the former contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, during a heated argument. The dispute was related to Sainsbury's decision to offer a secure environment for black workers in honor of Black History Month.

Fox urged people to avoid shopping at the supermarket, which led Blake, Seymour, and Nicola Thorp, a previous actor on Coronation Street, to accuse him of being discriminatory.

In the past, Fox responded to the allegations by suing the high court, claiming that being accused of racism is a harmful accusation and could ruin his career and reputation. He also stated that the allegation had led to a decrease in the amount of work he was offered. However, the high court did not accept his claims and dismissed them in January.

According to Collins Rice, Mr Fox's accusations that Mr Blake and Mr Seymour were involved in child abuse were unfounded, damaging, and defamatory. This conclusion was made after examining the evidence and facts surrounding the case.

There are not many ways to defend yourself against defamation like this in the eyes of the law. Mr. Fox did not try to prove that the allegations were true and he couldn't use any other defences that the law acknowledges based on the facts.

The judge didn't decide if calling Fox "a racist" was completely truthful, but he did determine that the three tweets mentioned in his argument were not likely to have a severely negative impact on his reputation.

During the six-day trial in November, Lorna Skinner KC acted as the representative for Blake, Seymour, and Thorp. She stated that the three individuals had a genuine belief that Mr. Fox held racist views and that this belief still persists.

Seymour, an artist from Canada, stated in written proof for the legal matters that he has been subject to overwhelming and distressing onslaughts following Fox's tweet. Moreover, he feels that performing as a drag artist has become riskier for him. Blake, who is currently serving as the CEO of Mental Health First Aid England, commented that Fox's tweet peddling the untrue notion that all gay men are paedophiles is an age-old stereotype.

While on trial, Fox rejected the Black Lives Matter movement, calling it "grift" and "a Ponzi scheme." He also argued that he had been unfairly targeted by anti-white racism.

Skinner accused Fox of never experiencing racism, but Fox disputed this claim by saying that he had. Fox stated that there is a prevalence of racism towards white people who hold right-wing views, which is widely accepted as the only form of racism that is deemed acceptable nowadays.

He also expressed his views on white privilege by deeming it a form of "repulsive racism". Furthermore, he added that he perceives white privilege as an intolerant form of insult due to its emphasis on skin color rather than personal characteristics and traits.

Fox spoke to reporters after the trial and referred to the decision as insignificant. He also mentioned that he is contemplating the option to appeal. He stated, "I am not discriminatory."

Seymour expressed his immense satisfaction with the ruling and also commented that he finds it advisable for Mr. Fox to introspect on the damage he is causing instead of obsessing over his self-imposed persecution.

Thorp stated that Fox had harmed his profession with his own beliefs. On a blog platform, she expressed, "Mr. Fox needs to acknowledge that he is solely responsible for any harm caused to his image."