By Ashley Young-
Actor Laurence Fox may be in contempt of cour t after posting a Twitter message criticising footballers and asking Benjamin Mendy and other footballers to take the knee for rape victims after his account was suspended over a controversial post on Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy.
The Leeds born political activist posted a tweet suggesting the guilt of footballer Benjamin Mendy, who has been remanded in jail for allegations of sexual assault against a number of teenagers.
Fox, 43, also defended himself from accusations of racism after he tweeted: ‘Get kneeling, f*****s’ as news broke of World Cup winner Mendy being charged with four counts of rape and sexual assault.
Fox tweeted: ‘ For too long, footballers have been portrayed as saints with the highest moral virtue.
‘When all too often they prey on young women using their fame, then use money & power to buy silence in a way ordinary men never could.
‘Perhaps in light of the most recent case, they should take the knee to the victims of sexual assault & rape? To own their own mess?
‘After all, these are not crimes committed by police officers 1000s of miles away, but by broken role models from within their own ranks?
Fox admitted his initial post was ‘provocative’ but denied any claims of discrimination, pointing to the fact his original tweet did not reference race.
An individual is guilty of contempt of court if they act in a manner which creates a real risk of prejudice to the administration of justice, or if their conduct indicates a wilful defiance of or disrespect to the court, or which challenges or affronts the authority of the court as the guardian of the rule of law.
In a six-post thread shared Friday morning, the outspoken actor-turned-political campaigner slammed professional footballers as ‘hypocrites’ and ‘mega-rich babies’.
Mendy, 27, is due to appear at Chester Magistrates’ Court today to face five charges relating to three people aged over 16 that are alleged to have taken place between October last year and this month.
Fox had tweeted: ‘Get kneeling f*****s’ after Benjamin Mendy was charged.
However, his comments may be in contempt of court, given the established rule that neither reporters nor members of the public are allowed to publish material that could prejudice the outcome of a case.
At 11pm on Thursday, Fox shared a screenshot of an email indicating his Twitter account was being suspended for ‘violating
Fox today was defending himself against accusations of discrimination and instead pointed the finger at ‘predatory’ professional footballers.He also added that he was ‘instructing footballers to kneel for victims of rape and sexual assault committed by footballers’.
Fox tweeted: ‘ For too long, footballers have been portrayed as saints with the highest moral virtue.
‘When all too often they prey on young women using their fame, then use money & power to buy silence in a way ordinary men never could.
‘Perhaps in light of the most recent case, they should take the knee to the victims of sexual assault & rape? To own their own mess?
‘After all, these are not crimes committed by police officers 1000s of miles away, but by broken role models from within their own ranks?
Fox is right in the sense that individuals who use their fame and money to abuse women and attempt to silence them should be brought to justice.
But he falls short o9f the law by openly prejudging a case yet to be brought before the courts.
The political activist frequently criticised the British government’s response and encouraged people to disobey social distancing rules and other public health restrictions during the heights of the pandemic.
Given his experience, the actor is e expected to know that he is not permitted to make judgemental comments about active cour cases.
Image:news.sky.com