The recent changes to defamation laws in New South Wales means you cannot successfully sue someone for defamation unless your reputation has been “seriously” harmed from a publication. The same applies in England and Wales.

Recently in the High Court of England and Wales, an actor and two social workers sued each other over an internet argument on Twitter. The actor posted on Twitter that Sainsburys, a UK supermarket chain, had an employee diversity and inclusion policy that was racist. In 2020, the actor became interested in politics and became active in opposing LGBT culture. The two social workers replied to the actor’s post and called him a racist.  The actor replied to the social workers and called them paedophiles. 

The two social workers claimed that the actor’s tweet had caused serious harm to them. They said the actor had made serious allegations of sexual abuse of children. The social workers were both volunteers to help children and teenagers with their sexual and mental health. The social workers claimed that they were both gay and advocates for the LGBT community. They claimed the actor had a massive social media following and likely caused serious harm to their reputation.

The actor claimed that the two social workers had accused him of being a racist. He said it was likely to cause serious harm to his career in both acting and politics. The actor argued that it was unclear as to what constitutes racism and proceeded to provide his political opinions to the Court.

In relation to the social workers’ claims, the court noted the actor’s social media presence and a large audience would have seen the publication. The court considered the social workers’ role in assisting children with mental and sexual health as well as their role in advocating for the LGBT community. The court found that the actor’s allegations of sexual abuse to children were seriously harmful, defamatory and baseless. 

In relation to the actor’s claim, the court refused to comment on what constituted as racism. The court found that the social workers’ allegations of racism was unlikely to cause serious harm. The judge noted the actor did not provide any evidence that he had suffered serious harm. The court dismissed the actor’s claim and invited the social workers to file submissions for damages.