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A Tale Of Two Crowd-Funders

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A Tale Of Two Crowd-Funders

It was the worst of crimes, it was the best of crimes...

JL
Jun 9, 2021
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A Tale Of Two Crowd-Funders

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On 27th May, celebrity TV doctor, Christian Jessen, was found to have libelled Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Arlene Foster.

On 23rd December 2019, when Arlene Foster was the DUP leader, Jessen made unfounded allegations that she was having an extra-marital affair.

In a tweet to his 300,000+ followers Jessen wrote, “Rumours are bouncing around that the DUPs Arlene Foster has been busted having an affair. Isn’t she the ‘sanctity if [sic] marriage’ preaching woman? It always comes to bite them on the arse in the end, Rather satisfying to us gay boys who she made feel even shittier….”.

Jessen failed to respond to communications from Foster’s lawyer, Paul Tweed, who demanded that the comment be removed. Jessen simply replied “lol” to Tweed’s warning that the tweet could result in legal action.

The tweet was not deleted until 7th January 2020, over a fortnight later, but even then Jessen did not offer a retraction or apology.

Twitter avatar for @BBCNews
BBC News (UK) @BBCNews
TV presenter Dr Christian Jessen in "last chance saloon" over bid to defend libel action over unfounded rumour about First Minister Arlene Foster, judge warns
bbc.inArlene Foster: Dr Christian Jessen in ‘last chance’ over libelDr Christian Jessen is being sued by First Minister Arlene Foster for tweeting an unfounded rumour.
1:35 PM ∙ Apr 27, 2021
50Likes14Retweets


When Foster finally did take legal action against him, Jessen failed to respond to her legal team and did not engage with the process for over 12 months, despite innumerable attempts to contact him by post and email. He said he believed that court proceedings weren’t in operation due to Covid 19 restrictions and claimed that he had been in isolation due to his poor mental health.

The court found that his comment about Arlene foster was defamatory.

Twitter avatar for @skydavidblevins
David Blevins @skydavidblevins
BREAK: N. Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster awarded £125,000 damages for defamation re. tweet by Dr Christian Jessen in which he made the false allegation of an extra marital affair.
Image
10:08 AM ∙ May 27, 2021
667Likes128Retweets


Delivering his judgment at the High Court in Belfast, Mr Justice McAlinden said that Jessen’s tweet had caused Foster ‘humiliation, embarrassment and hurt’.

“It is an outrageous libel concerning an individual of considerable standing, attacking her integrity at the most fundamental level, and it involves the trashing in a very public fashion of the relationship that Ms Foster holds dearest in her life.

It affected core aspects of her life, namely her relationship with her husband, her deep Christian faith, it called into question her fitness and suitability to occupy the office of first minister at a time when delicate negotiations were continuing on the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Executive.”

Jessen was ordered to pay damages of £125,000 and Arlene Foster's legal costs.

He immediately set up a fundraising page via GoFundMe on which he states that he is ‘considering an appeal’ and seeking to raise £150,000 to fight what he describes as ‘a most unfair situation’.

Several media reports, however, seem to suggest that the funding page was set up to cover the legal fees and damages he incurred rather than to finance an appeal.

Twitter avatar for @SpecCoffeeHouse
Coffee House @SpecCoffeeHouse
Ross Clark on Dr Christian Jessen and an embarrassing use of crowdfunding:
bit.lyWhy should Dr Christian Jessen’s fans pay his legal bill? | The SpectatorWasn’t the whole point of crowdfunding supposed to be about enabling community and artistic projects to take place? That was how I remember it being sold to us, at any rate. But no, I got it wrong. It turns out that the real point of it is to help celebrities pay their legal bills. Dr C…
10:22 AM ∙ May 31, 2021
30Likes5Retweets
Twitter avatar for @Independent
The Independent @Independent
Dr Christian Jessen crowdfunding £125,000 in damages to Arlene Foster after losing libel case
independent.co.ukDr Christian Jessen crowdfunding £125,000 in damages to Arlene Foster after losing libel case‘Last year or so has been very difficult for me as I have struggled with some serious mental health problems and knowing I have your support is hugely encouraging and affirming,’ TV doctor writes
6:46 AM ∙ May 30, 2021
9Likes5Retweets
Twitter avatar for @MirrorCeleb
Mirror Celeb @MirrorCeleb
Christian Jessen launches fundraiser to pay libel fee to Arlene Foster after losing case mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-…
Image
6:50 PM ∙ May 28, 2021
3Likes4Retweets


Until recently, Jessen worked at a private Harley Street clinic. He now appears to be practicing online, offering virtual appointments at a cost of £150 for a 30-minute consultation. He’s also worked extensively as a television presenter and general media-bawd since 2007.

During the case, as documented in the court records, Jessen gave evidence that, at the time of the offence, he was living at a prestigious London address on Westminster Bridge Road. The electoral register shows that he had lived at this property for over 10 years. It then transpired that he not only owned this property, but also a second luxury apartment in the same building. A current online evaluation of both properties suggests a combined market value of almost £2 million.

Jessen now claims he faces bankruptcy over the court ruling.

Twitter avatar for @BelTel
Belfast Telegraph @BelTel
Celebrity TV doctor Christian Jessen, who has been ordered to pay Arlene Foster £125,000 in libel damages, says he only has £20,000
belfasttelegraph.co.ukChristian Jessen: I am down to my last £20k, says TV doctor after being ordered to pay Arlene Foster £125k in libel damagesCelebrity TV doctor Christian Jessen, who has been ordered to pay Arlene Foster £125,000 in libel damages, says he only has £20,000.
8:10 AM ∙ May 30, 2021
11Likes1Retweet

Elsewhere in the news this week, a feminist campaigner from Airdrie in Scotland has been charged with a ‘hate crime’ over her Twitter posts.

Marion Millar is a mother, an accountant and a feminist who campaigns to protect women’s sex based rights. She has been charged with a ‘hate crime’ under the Malicious Communications Act for tweets posted in 2019 and 2020. She is alleged to have posted ‘homophobic and transphobic’ material on social media and could face two years imprisonment if she is convicted.

Her arrest followed a long-drawn out process with the Scottish Police during which she suffered sleepless nights and extreme stress.

Twitter avatar for @millar_marion
'MarionMillar' #WomenWontWheesht @millar_marion
On Wednesday April the 28th 2021 I received a call from a PC Laura Daley from @policescotland requesting i attend an interview for homophobic and transphobic tweets under the milacious communications act. I was asked to attend that coming Friday, she told me I had to attend
9:43 AM ∙ May 22, 2021
3,128Likes1,424Retweets


She was told she had to attend a police interview. She was told she’d need to attend a police station with a holding cell. She was told an officer would attend her house bringing social workers for her children. She was not told what she was supposed to have done. Her interview was scheduled. Then it was cancelled. Then it was re-scheduled… Her torment made the papers.

Eventually, about six weeks after the police initially demanded she attend an interview, Marion was charged.

Twitter avatar for @HTScotPol
Tom Gordon @HTScotPol
Feminist campaigner charged with 'hate crime'
heraldscotland.comFeminist campaigner charged with ‘hate crime’A LEADING feminist campaigner has been charged with a hate crime for posting allegedly homophobic and transphobic material on social media.
7:34 PM ∙ Jun 3, 2021
163Likes60Retweets


It seems that one of the ‘offending’ tweets Marion posted involved a photograph of a loop of ribbon in suffragette colours.

Marion set up a crowd-funder in order to raise money for her legal fees. Within a couple of hours she’d raised over £13K. But then GoFundMe removed her page.

Twitter avatar for @ForwomenScot
forwomen.scot @ForwomenScot
"After raising nearly £14,000, Millar released a message from GoFundMe in which the company said her account had been removed because it violated terms of service."
thetimes.co.ukFundraiser block after cash pours in for feminist charged with hate crimeA fundraising appeal to pay the legal bills of a feminist charged with a hate crime over alleged homophobic and transphobic social media posts exceeded its target of £10,000 within three hours of
11:05 PM ∙ Jun 5, 2021
144Likes64Retweets


It seems that Marion’s crowd-funder violated GoFundMe’s terms of service.

Twitter avatar for @millar_marion
'MarionMillar' #WomenWontWheesht @millar_marion
They have taken down my page
Image
5:43 PM ∙ Jun 5, 2021
813Likes383Retweets

Probably this one.

So much for being innocent until proven guilty. How can someone alleged to have committed a crime be expected to prove their innocence if GoFundMe refuse them a facility to finance their legal defence?

It doesn’t seem fair or equitable that the service was removed so swiftly from a feminist campaigner whose alleged offences remain, as yet, unknown and unproven, while a man already found to be in breach of the law has no problems using the site to fund an appeal he is still only ‘considering’.

But, as GoFundMe are clearly such sticklers for the applying of regulations to the letter, here’s something they may wish to consider.

Twitter avatar for @anyabike
Anya Palmer @anyabike
A lot of organisations out there, and @gofundme is one of them, don't seem to realise that if they operate in the UK they are bound by the Equality Act. Which prohibits discrimination on belief grounds, not only in the employment field but also in the provision of services.
Twitter avatar for @millar_marion
'MarionMillar' #WomenWontWheesht @millar_marion
Thank you so so much for your kind donations, they tras have won again, all your money will be returned to you within 3 - 7 days. Thank you all for trying ❤ https://t.co/Jsg9h8FAv8
6:11 PM ∙ Jun 5, 2021
532Likes117Retweets

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A Tale Of Two Crowd-Funders

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IWantToBeCalledLoretta
Jun 9, 2021Liked by JL

Dr Christian is down to his last £20K. Aww, poor lamb. It's £20K more than I've got. 😆 He's such a tool. He just needs to hide under a rock for a decade or so.

Pretty shitty to play the mental health card as a defence if he was practicing medicine (even virtually) during that time. On the ball enough to dispense medical advice but not reign in your ego on social media? Pull the other one. What's up doc? Hopefully your time as a respected professional.

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Catherine Conroy
Jun 9, 2021Liked by JL

I'm no fan of Arlene Foster but hell, Jessen was given several chances to retract. He's a bloody idiot. He's also loaded so he has a nerve to get people to crowd fund him. Of course, contrasting with Marion Millar who is taken to court over frankly trumped up charges, this really is sick making.

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