Erin Molan wins Daily Mail defamation suit
Sports presenter and Sky News broadcaster Erin Molan has been awarded $150,000 in damages after winning a defamation suit against Daily Mail Australia.
The defamation suit regarded an article and two tweets published by the tabloid in June 2020, which she alleged falsely portrayed her as racist.
The tweets had referred to a segment on 2GB in May 2020, where Molan and her 2GB colleagues were discussing the pronunciation of Pacific Islander names, with Molan saying “hooka looka mooka hooka fooka”.
At the time, Molan faced significant backlash for the on-air comments for being complicit in racism, and received online threats from former NRL player John Hopoate.
Molan responded to the backlash, saying that she had “engaged a specialist defamation law firm” to take on the Daily Mail.
“I would like to publicly address the misleading and inaccurate pieces by the Daily Mail regarding the audio clip that went to air during the Continuous Call on 2GB,” she said in a statement at the time.
Commenting on the matter in a statement, the Daily Mail Australia said:
“Today Erin Molan succeeded in her Federal Court defamation action against Daily Mail Australia, receiving an award of $150,000 in damages plus costs. We are very disappointed by the result of today’s judgment and are considering an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia.
“Despite the Court finding that five imputations were false and defamatory of her, we would like to highlight the Court also found it was factually true that Ms Molan, during the 2GB Continuous Call Team program, engaged in conduct that was likely to offend people because of their race or ethnic origin, and the people likely to be offended were NRL players with Pacific Islander names and their community. Such conduct was able to be relied upon by Daily Mail Australia as a mitigation of damages.
“It is also worth noting the Court further held that while the Daily Mail article did not call Ms Molan a racist and that it was therefore not appropriate to make any determination on that issue, by reason of her ‘intemperate behaviour’ in prior broadcasts – including faking accents, and arguably advancing racial stereotypes – she was at ‘some peril’ of an adverse conclusion.”
I find it really interesting that a personality can say these types of comments and a White Anglo judge decides in favour of the White Anglo woman, whose father is a former politician.
Has a precedent now been set that other personalities can mock people of different colour and culture and it will be acceptable ?
We have just gone backwards in how Australia will be perceived by our wonderful multicultural community and overseas visitors as a result of this ruling.
I also think the workplace of Paul Whittaker’s Sky News suits Molan, given their editorial stance and commentators like Bolt. She will fit in well, influencing their tiny audiences who have tiny minds.
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