Erin Molan’s defamation case against the Daily Mail Australia has come to an end, with the case resolved in mediation. The Australian reports that no damages will be awarded, and both Molan and the Daily Mail have agreed to pay their own costs.
Erin Molan launched legal action again the Daily Mail, suing the publication for defamation in response to a 2020 article and two tweets that Molan said represented her as racist. The article and tweets centred on Molan saying the phrase “hooka looka mooka hooka fooka” on 2GB in reference to Polynesian players’ names.
The Daily Mail argued that it showed that Molan demonstrated a “pattern” of racist comments during her time with 2GB’s Continuous Call Team program and that her attempts at accents were forms of “ugly racial stereotypes.”
During the case, Molan stated in her evidence that the broadcast on 2GB had nothing to do with mocking someone’s name and ethnicity and that “it was a running joke on the show to attempt to do accents from all over the world”.
Justice Robert Bromwich in his judgement found that Molan was not mocking a Polynesian accent on the radio program but rather putting on an accent of her colleague Ray Warren, who had stumbled over the names.
In August last year, the federal court ruled that the Daily Mail would have to pay $150,000 plus interest in damages for the article, but a successful appeal meant that the case was due to be re-heard in front of Judge Bromwich.
The settlement means that will no longer be the case.
“Daily Mail Australia alleged that Ms Molan had engaged in racist behaviour, with Ms Molan having denied that she had engaged in any such conduct,” read a statement from the Daily Mail on Thursday.
“Both parties are happy with the resolution of the proceedings, which involved each party paying their own costs, but did not involve Daily Mail Australia paying any damages to Ms Molan.”