The Guardian, a British newspaper, published a series of articles between 2021 and 2022 focusing on allegations of sexual harassment leveled against British actor and director Noel Clarke. The initial article highlighted claims made by 20 women, detailing instances of unwanted physical contact, inappropriate conduct and remarks on set, and the unauthorized capturing and dissemination of sexually explicit images. Subsequent pieces brought forth accusations from an additional 10 women.
Despite rising to prominence for his role as Mickey Smith in the popular series ‘Doctor Who’ and his involvement in writing, directing, and starring in the Kidulthood film series, Clarke vehemently refuted all the claims presented by The Guardian.
Responding to The Guardian’s investigation, Clarke initiated legal action, accusing the newspaper of defamation and seeking £10 million (€11.5 million) in damages. During a recent High Court hearing, Mr. Justice Johnson ruled that seven out of the eight articles published provided “strong grounds to believe that the claimant is guilty of various forms of sexual harassment,” leading to the determination that the articles were indeed defamatory.
Clarke’s career in the media suffered significant setbacks following the publication of the investigation. The awarding of a BAFTA lifetime achievement award was put on hold, and the final episode of a show in which Clarke was appearing failed to be aired. With the High Court’s ruling categorizing the articles as defamatory rather than an expression of opinion, Clarke is now pursuing The Guardian for defamation.
In response to the judgement, Clarke released a statement expressing his satisfaction with the High Court’s findings and his intent to move forward with the defamation claim. Meanwhile, The Guardian, while not disputing the defamatory nature of the articles, emphasized their commitment to robustly defending the integrity of their investigative journalism.
SOURCE: Ref Image from The Independent
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