RuPaul's Drag Race star Crystal wins libel suit after Laurence Fox falsely called her a pedophile

RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 1 star Crystal has won a high-profile libel suit against British actor and conservative activist Laurence Fox.

A High Court judge found that Fox acted in a manner that was "seriously harmful, defamatory, and baseless" when he referred to Crystal as a pedophile in an incendiary October 2020 social media exchange.

According to court documents obtained by EW, the judge in the case, Mrs. Justice Collins Rice, found that Fox "did not attempt to show these allegations were true" when he defamed Crystal and ex-Stonewall chair Simon Blake by claiming that they were sexually attracted to children.

The judge further indicated in her decision that "the law affords few defenses to defamation of this sort," and noted that Crystal and Blake are entitled to submit requests for "damages and further remedies."

Fox countersued the entertainers — as well as actress and media personality Nicola Thorp — for tweeting that he was racist, after he criticized the regional Sainsbury’s supermarket chain for expressing support for Black Lives Matter — a move he said promoted "racial segregation and discrimination." The court ultimately dismissed Fox's counterclaim. In response to the group's tweets, Fox used the word "paedophile" to describe them — the regionally accepted spelling of the word "pedophile," as it's spelled in the United States.

In a statement to EW, Crystal said she "took no joy" in bringing the case to court, and that she felt Fox could've resolved the issue with an apology.

"I’ve said it before, but paedopholia is one of the oldest and most damaging homophobic tropes. Since Mr. Fox used that word about me, I have been re-labelled as such dozens of times, been physically threatened, and been afraid for my safety in public," Crystal continued. "This judgement unequivocally states that his tweet was defamatory and that it caused me harm. I am very happy to have this finalized, and I hope it will make some difference in the ongoing demonization of queer people as 'groomers' or 'dangerous.' This is a lesson: we will not take it."

Crystal finished the statement by thanking Blake and Thorp for standing by her in court. "I really hope this makes a difference," she noted.

In several follow-up messages on X, Fox insisted that his career was damaged by the proceedings, and called out Thorp specifically after she posted a celebratory message following the High Court's ruling.

"You haven’t won. You lost," he wrote. "Racist as a term now means nothing. So actually, I won."

He later added: "There are several avenues to appeal. I have after all appealed this case before and won, so we shall see. I have to believe the justice system will find the right way in the end."

The case comes after a particularly strained period for LGBTQIA+ people around the world, which has ranged from an increase in physical assaults on queer performers in public (including Drag Race stars Envy Peru and The Vivienne) as well as attempted anti-drag and anti-trans legislation in the United States.

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