The former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) took legal action against Dr Jessen as he made false allegations concerning an extra-marital relationship. Northern Ireland first minister, Arlene Foster, awarded £125,00 due to damages which followed a defamatory tweet by Dr Chrstian Jessen, a TV presenter.
However, this latter was an unfounded claim and was deleted on January 7 2020. Nevertheless, it had been deleted after only two weeks. As Dr Jensen has 311,000 followers, the tweet had been viewed by millions of people as it had been retweeted 517 times.
A defamatory tweet
According to Mr Justice McAlinden, the tweet attacked the prime minister’s integrity at its very core and it ruined the most important relationship of her life. Moreover, a judge at the High Court in Belfast described the tweet as an ‘outrageous libel’ which can be deemed as ‘grossly defamatory’. Therefore, the judge ordered Dr Jessen to pay damages of £125,000, plus Mrs Foster’s legal costs.
On the other hand, Dr Jessen defined his battle as the ‘most unfair’, indeed he is taking into consideration the possibility of appealing the decision. Undoubtedly, the tweet deeply hurt the first minister as she was upset, humiliated, hurt and embarrassed.
That rumour simply ‘trashed’ her 25-year marriage. Additionally, not only she had to deal with the tweet in public, but also at home with her children. She had to discuss that tweet with her children two days before Christmas.
She describes that moment as strongly stressful. Arlene Foster’s lawyer asked the TV presenter to remove the tweet but he replied “LOL” and kept the tweet on his page for another two weeks. He claims that he was not aware he was the prime minister’s lawyer and so did not care about that comment.
The DUP’s leader said she is “glad and satisfied” with the outcome of the case.
GoFundMe page
Dr Jessen is now tweeting again as he is seeking donors to help him pay off his fine. Moreover, he wrote a message to his followers where he thanked them and asked them if they could retweet and support him on his GoFundMe page. The TV presenter aims to fundraise £150,000 and said that any extra donation will be donated to relevant charities. Last week he raised almost £2,000.
Dr Jessen’s mental health
On this page, he explained that he had provided to the court evidence regarding his mental health and personal circumstances over the last year.
However, the court decided he had to pay substantial costs. He claims to be unaware that the legal proceedings were advancing because he was going through mental health problems, indeed he had gone to live with his parents. Even though he claimed to have provided evidence to demonstrate he was sick, Mr Justice McAlinden said that there was no medical evidence to support that, hence, he had to pay for damages.
In conclusion, what Dr Jessen did had a huge impact on Arlene Foster’s life as she had to deal with it both, publicly and privately. It is therefore fair that she receives money for the damages this tweet provoked.
To keep up with the latest commercial news, click on commercial to get your daily dose.
Donate & Support