TL;DR: This week Lawrence Fox was found to have libelled two queer people for his baseless accusations of them being peadophiles. It sends a clear message to anyone who publishes content, which in the eyes of the law extends to social media posts, that peddling the false 'groomer' narrative has legal consequences.
The pervasive lie that LGBTQIA+ people are akin to paedophiles - that we are 'subversives' or 'groomers' - is a narrative that has been around long before the modern queer rights movement kicked into action.
But it's one that still regularly rears its ugly head, despite years of progression on human rights.
This week, former actor, GB News presenter and self declared 'politician' Lawrence Fox was found to have libelled Drag Race UK queen Crystal and former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake for calling them "paedophiles" in tweets in 2020.
It's a striking ruling in an era of anti-trans hate, 'groomer' narratives and LGBTQIA+ prejudice being published second by second on social media.
What did the Lawrence Fox libel ruling say?
Laurence Fox libelled two people when he referred to them as "paedophiles" on social media in an exchange about a decision by Sainsbury's to celebrate Black History Month - The Guardian
The judge ruled that:
"Mr Fox's labelling of Mr Blake and Mr Seymour as paedophiles was, on the evidence, probabilities and facts of this case, seriously harmful, defamatory and baseless. The law affords few defences to defamation of this sort. Mr Fox did not attempt to show these allegations were true, and he was not able to bring himself on the facts within the terms of any other defence recognised in law."
In response to the case Fox had put in a counter-claim about their accusations of him being racist. However these were deemed by the judge to have been "unlikely to have harmed his reputation". Harm is a significant factor in the outcome of a libel case. He blamed the accusations in this exchange for being the "career-ending" and "a reputation-destroying allegation" - Sky News
How have Crystal and Lawrence Fox responded?
The Drag Queen star, who goes by Colin Seymour out of drag, said the case has left them with a mix of feelings. Ultimately, they said, it “reminds people that we don’t need to sit and take it when people are throwing around baseless slurs” - Gay Times
Meanwhile, Laurence Fox has made multiple posts on X, including accusing the judge of being unable to “define racism”. Crystal said Fox and those like him should learn “how to apologise” - PinkNews
Analysis: A warning to all those who peddle the 'groomer' narrative
In UK law publishing lies in words - in whatever form, platform or place - opens you up to a libel lawsuit. That's true whoever you are and wherever you do it - whether it's in a book, in a newspaper, or, crucially, on platforms like X.
These kinds of cases, and rulings are rare though, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the bar to prove libel is high - though in this case, it was found to have been clearly met.
But the main reason we haven't seen many cases like this, despite the vast array of these disgusting allegations online, is because of the high costs associated with taking these disputes to the courts.
Crystal and Blake have made it clear why they felt so compelled to take this case to court, they wanted it to send a reverberation to anyone peddling these lies - and to the victims of that kind of hate.
This ruling sends a clear signal that publishing false, baseless accusations against LGBTQIA+ people and drag queens, likening them to paedophiles or 'groomers', will land you in court and on the losing side.
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