Drag artist owed £90,000 by Laurence Fox for libellous tweet reveals how they will spend his money

A drag star owed £90,000 from Laurence Fox after successfully suing him for libel over a row on social media has revealed how they will spend his money.

The actor-turned-right-wing-politician was sued by drag artist Crystal and former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake after wrongly calling them both “paedophiles” in an exchange on X, formerly Twitter, about a decision by Sainsbury’s to mark Black History Month in October 2020.

In a judgment in January, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of the performer, whose real name is Colin Seymour, and Mr Blake, dismissing the Reclaim Party founder’s counter-claims against the pair and broadcaster Nicola Thorp.

And in a ruling last week, the judge ordered Mr Fox to pay Mr Blake and Mr Seymour £90,000 each in damages.

Writing for The Independent following the judgment, Mr Seymour spoke of how he felt “vindicated” upon reading the decision.

Now, the former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK contestant has explained how he will be spending the money awarded to him by the judge.

Writing for the Metro, he said the total £180,000 damages will be split equally between the three original claimants, even though the judge did not award any to Ms Thorp.

With his remaining £60,000, Mr Seymour said he will be donating the majority to charities and saving the rest for himself, with a view to buying a bidet with a fox head spout “so that Laurence’s money can wash my vindicated a**”.

“Speaking of money, I know you’re wondering what I’m going to do with the £90k,” Mr Seymour wrote. “There were three original claimants in our case against Laurence Fox – myself, Simon Blake and Nicola Thorp – so we will be spitting the total £180k damages three ways despite only two of us being awarded them.

“I will give the bulk of my sum to charity, focusing on issues I know are close to Laurence’s heart – trans rights, racial equity, refugee advocacy and Palestinian solidarity to name a few. And I will save a bit for myself – I fancy a bidet with a fox head spout – so that Laurence’s money can wash my vindicated a**.”

Mr Seymour stressed he never pursued court proceedings for the money but for recognition.

The performer added it had become “very commonplace” for people on social media to use terms such as “groomer” and “paedo” and that even after the April ruling, someone had accused him of being a danger to children.

Following last week’s judgment, Mr Fox posted on X that he would be seeking an appeal, describing the ruling as “so surreal it’s almost funny”.

Mr Seymour thanked the people who had shown support over the legal case, adding: “Whenever a victory has been announced, the outpouring of support has just been so sensational. It’s been so fantastic to feel that and also just to feel like it’s a win for the entire community.

“I hope that this emboldens more people to stand up for themselves.”