Mick Molloy, TEN, lose defamation case.
A judge awards $85,000 in damages to a woman who was defamed on an episode of Before the Game.
- Published by David Knox
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Comedian Mick Molloy and Network TEN have lost a profile defamation case brought against them in South Australia by former political candidate Nicole Cornes and wife of former AFL coach Graham Cornes.
Ms. Cornes sued after alleging Molloy defamed her on Before the Game by joking she had slept with former Port Adelaide player Stuart Dew.
Molloy later read an on-air apology.
Former Media Watch host Stuart Littlemore, QC, said it was hard to imagine what worse defamation could be broadcast to impugn a women’s “self-respect and dignity”.
Lawyers for TEN had said the comments were not meant to be taken literally, but in jest.
Dick Whitington, QC, said the entire episode included jokes comparing former player Tony Liberatore to a midget and accusing the St Kilda football club of “recruiting babies”.
“There is simply no basis in the law of defamation to say that a dirty joke that ridicules someone is defamatory,” he said.
Justice David Peek ruled in favour of Cornes’ case and awarded her $85,000 in general damages. A decision on court costs will be made at a later date.
Source: news.com.au, smh.com.au
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- Tagged with AFL, Before the Game, Media Watch
21 Responses
Seemed fair enough to me.
There was enough double entendre going on re ‘tending the rose gardens’ without Mick needing to open his big fat crass mouth in the hope of a cheap laugh.
Bobby it is not about whether you or your mum were offended, it was about whether or not Nicole Cornes was offended / slandered.
Your joke isnt so funny now Mick, it kinda backfired, someone had the guts to take you on, now your the joke and we are laughing at you.
I hope you never get another gig on tv.
@stephen and @life, I would laugh, we both would. But are you guys strong enough in yourselves to be able to?
why am I even answering?!
Not Team Malloy, but Team Relax Ya Sacks.
Mick Molloy is a try-hard jokester. I cringe every time he attempts humour on Before the Game. It astounds me that he is still on television.
@bobby I wonder if he had made the same comment about your mum you would feel the same.
Onya Micky! Keep up the fine work ol boy!
mick who?
So Mick and Dick can’t take a trick…?
Without Tony Martin, Mick Molloy is simply not as funny.
lucky for ch 10 with the cut backs… they can afford this payout!
Network Ten needs to keep out of the courts as much as possible because of their woeful financial position. If they were seven and could afford it than maybe.
Such thin skinned behavior, it reminds me of the Palin/Letterman feud a couple of years back.
Dick Whitington’s mother obviously had a sense of humor!
@bobby relax .. the slander was not against you or more your Mum . I woner how you might feel if it was ?
As the son of a feminist and a feminist myself, both mum and I think this is ridiculous. Much worse things are said on a daily basis about people worse off than this silly woman.
What a waste of court time this was.
And @Moanique… Oh you can’t? So what can we say? Anything at all?
Dicko was right last night, whingers are ruining this country with their tears every 5 mins. It’s all white people problems and they need to grow the hell up.
I don’t like Molloy, I do not defend him, but I do defend an Australian’s right to take the p*ss.
Never understood why he keeps popping up, he’s not funny.
“deformation”. I like that. May even be a better description.
Whether it was deformation or not. It is not an appropriate thing to say at all. Good to see the law has finally caught up with him, never liked the guy.
Good result, you can’t say things like that on air, even in jest.
Mick Molloy would have been perfect on Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
It seems like trouble just follows this guy where ever he goes