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Boyle wins £54,900
Monday 22nd October 2012 | Shavy
Popular Comedian, Frankie Boyle has won £54,900 in ‘racism’ libel case against Daily Mirror.
A known comedian for controversial humour has won the defamation case against Daily Mirror. They had libelled him as ‘racist’ in an article published on July 19, 2011. Daily Mirror publisher Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) defended the piece "on the basis of truth and fair comment". However, jurors ruled in favour of Boyle.
The comedian told The Daily Mirror newspaper that they had misunderstood the context of his use of language in jokes, later adding the accusation of racism on him. He explained that he had "actively campaigned" against racism and he thought it was important to highlight the issue in his routines by mocking the attitudes of racists, whom he despised.
Jurors concluded that the racist description was defamatory and awarded Boyle £50,650. Jurors were shown footage from the BBC satirical show ‘Mock The Week’, in which Boyle and other comedians discussed immigration. Jury gave him further damages of £4,250 when they found that the Mirror's report saying Boyle had been "forced to quit" ‘Mock the Week’ was defamatory.
The comedian said he was very happy as he left court.
By Shavy Malhotra
