Controversial actor Laurence Fox was sued by now-Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal, real name Colin Seymour, over a row on X/Twitter
Laurence Fox’s libel claim after he was called a racist on social media is set to face a retrial, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The actor-turned-activist was successfully sued by now-Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal over a row on social media platform X.
Mr Fox, 47, called Mr Blake and the former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, whose real name is Colin Seymour, “paedophiles” in an exchange about a decision by Sainsbury’s to mark Black History Month in October 2020.
Mr Fox called for a boycott of the supermarket and was called “a racist” by the men, as well as by broadcaster Nicola Thorp, before he responded with the “paedophile” tweets which led to the libel claims.
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In two judgments in 2024, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of Mr Blake and Mr Seymour, and said Mr Fox should pay them £90,000 each in damages.
The judge dismissed Mr Fox’s counter-claims against them and Ms Thorp over tweets accusing him of racism. Mr Fox challenged this decision at the Court of Appeal in London, where his lawyers described the previous judge’s decision as “plainly wrong”.
And in a decision on Friday, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby ruled in Mr Fox’s favour on his counter-claims and the level of damages.
Lord Justice Warby said that the tweets describing Mr Fox as a racist caused serious harm to his reputation and his libel claim should be reconsidered at a retrial.
He also said that the amount of damages Mr Fox was ordered to pay to Mr Blake and Mr Seymour was “manifestly excessive”, halving both sums to £45,000.
Lord Justice Warby said: “I am acutely aware of the need for this court to respect the function of the trial judge, and show due restraint. Having reflected on the arguments and revisited the written materials presented to us I have however concluded that the judge’s approach was in some respects wrong in law in ways that are material to the outcome.”
The Court of Appeal judge dismissed Mr Fox’s bid to overturn the finding that he had libelled Mr Blake and Mr Seymour. In 2024, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of Blake and Seymour, and told Fox to pay them £90,000 each in damages. The judge dismissed the controversial star’s counter claims against them and Nicola Thorp, who also branded him a racist.
He took to the Court of Appeal in London to challenge the decision and his lawyers claimed the judge’s decision was “plainly wrong”. At the end of a two-day hearing in July, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby said the decision will be handed down on October 17.
“It won’t particularly surprise you to know that we won’t give judgment this afternoon, we will reserve matters. Thank you all very much indeed, we will try to give you a judgment as soon as we can,” it was said in July.
The appeal process saw Patrick Green KC, for Fox, claimed the judgement which found the actor had libelled the men should be quashed due to “errors of approach” by the judge, including over whether Blake and Seymour were caused serious harm.
Adrienne Page KC, for Blake, Seymour and Thorp, said Fox’s appeal was “lacking in merit”, with Page later saying: “Whichever way one looks at it, the judge was fully entitled to reach the factual conclusions that she did on the serious, real-world, reputational impact of the appellant’s tweets, for the reasons which she gave.
“There was nothing wrong with her analysis in fact or law. After very careful and conscientious evaluation, the judge was, unsurprisingly, not persuaded of this on the facts.”
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Source: Mirror
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