Laurence Fox has lost a High Court libel case with two people he called paedophiles on social media.
In the High Court libel case, Laurence Fox lost his legal battle against Simon Blake and Crystal over his use of the term “paedophile” on social media.
Inspector Lewis star Lawrence Fox was once credited for being one of the UKs best actors. However, in recent years his acting career has been overshadowed by his erratic behaviour.
Today, Laurence Fox has lost his High Court libel case against two individuals he referred to as paedophiles on social media.
The lawsuit was brought by former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal, following a heated exchange on Twitter in October 2020.
The dispute arose over Sainsbury’s decision to provide a safe space for black employees during Black History Month, with Lawrence Fox calling for a boycott of the supermarket, accusing it of promoting racial segregation and discrimination.
Simon Blake and Crystal, who were both involved in LGBTQ+ activism, responded to Fox’s tweet, accusing him of racism. In retaliation, Fox referred to Blake and Crystal, as well as actor Nicola Thorp, as “paedophiles” in a subsequent tweet. These serious allegations led to a legal battle between the parties involved.
The libel case brought by Simon Blake and Crystal against Laurence Fox centred around his use of the term “paedophile” to describe them on social media.
The High Court, presided over by Mrs. Justice Collins Rice, deemed Fox’s labelling of the two men as “seriously harmful, defamatory, and baseless.”
She stated that Fox had not attempted to prove the truth of his allegations or provide any other recognized defence in law. The judge highlighted the limited defences available for defamation cases of this nature.
In her ruling, Mrs. Justice Collins Rice did not make a definitive judgment on whether or not Laurence Fox was a racist. However, she found that the three tweets in Fox’s counterclaim were unlikely to cause serious harm to his reputation.
Following the ruling, Fox described it as a “nothing burger” and expressed his intention to appeal in order to clarify the meaning of the word “racist.”
Meanwhile, Simon Blake, Crystal, and Nicola Thorp celebrated the ruling as a victory for free speech and expressed relief that the case had come to an end.
Laurence Fox claimed that the accusations of racism had caused significant damage to his reputation and career.
He stated that he had faced a decline in the number and quality of acting roles offered to him, and even his ex-wife, Billie Piper, became concerned for the safety of their children.
Fox alleged that his life had been destroyed by the accusation and that he was unable to secure a mortgage. However, the judge found that any harm to Fox’s reputation was the result of his own conduct rather than the comments made by Blake, Crystal, and Thorp.
Outside the court, Lawrence Fox described the ruling in his libel case as a “nothing burger”.
He said: “It means that we’re going to have to go back to court, to appeal, to get a meaning of this word.
“What is a racist? Every single person in this country knows what a racist is, except the people that dominate every single national institution that we have.”
The claimants, Simon Blake, Crystal, and Nicola Thorp expressed their relief at the outcome of the case.
In a statement posted on X after the verdict, Crystal said: “I am incredibly relieved to have this outcome – a huge weight I’ve been carrying for over three years has just been lifted.
“I want to say again that I took no joy in bringing this case, nor did I do so lightly. Mr Fox could have made this go away very early on with a meaningful apology and settlement.”
He added: “I hope it will make some difference in the ongoing demonisation of queer people as ‘groomers’ or ‘dangerous’.
“This is a lesson: we will not take it.”
