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Laurence Fox ordered to pay $220k to Drag Race UK star Crystal

Laurence Fox ordered to pay $220k to Drag Race UK star Crystal

Laurence Fox; Crystal on RuPaul's Drag Race season 1
Getty Images; BBC/World of Wonder

The star of RuPaul's Drag Race UK is finally getting paid after winning her defamation case against Laurence Fox.

simbernardo

Justice has been served.

On Thursday, April 25, right-wing pundit Laurence Fox was officially ordered to pay £180,000 ($220,000) after losing his libel case against RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 1 star Crystal in January 2024.

Specifically, Fox must pay £90,000 ($110,000) to each of the two people involved in the case: Colin Seymour (Crystal's out-of-drag name) and Simon Blake (UK charity Stonewall trustee). The judge who presided over the case reportedly made the following statement (via Deadline):

"By calling Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour 'paedophiles,' Mr. Fox subjected them to a wholly undeserved public ordeal. It was a gross, groundless, and indefensible libel, with distressing and harmful real-world consequences for them."

Crystal has taken to social media to share her immediate reaction to the news. The Drag Race UK star wrote in an Instagram story:

"If you just got this as a push notification from The Guardian: you're welcome."

Crystal via Instagram story

Instagram (@crystal.will.see.you.now)

In October 2020, Fox shared a series of tweets (now X posts) accusing Crystal/Seymour and Blake of being "pedophiles." Crystal and Blake filed a defamation lawsuit in April 2021, which came to a close in January 2024 with the verdict that Fox had lost.

Conservatives have been actively targeting the LGBTQ+ community in the past few years, with a particular focus on trans people and drag entertainers. Thankfully, the U.K. courts saw this for what it is — and has always been — and reached a verdict in favor of Crystal and Blake.

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Bernardo Sim

Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.

Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.