Laurence Fox 'sues man over racist claim' as ex-actor slammed for Blackface snap
Laurence Fox is allegedly taking legal action against a social media user who called the former actor, 45, a "racist pr***" on Twitter in May, it's been revealed today.
Mukhtar Ali Yassin took to Twitter this afternoon [August 9] to tell his followers: "Hi everyone, @LozzaFox has sued me. I did not get the letter as it was sent to the wrong address. I will be defending it & @mlewislawyer has agreed to act on “no win no fee”. If I need to crowdfund for any disbursements, I’ll let you know. But it's on."
Mr Yassin's tweet comes just hours on from Fox being slammed on social media for uploading a picture of himself wearing an afro wig and seemingly sporting excessive amounts of fake tan on his face. The controversial dad-of-two claimed he was "someone who has recently racially transitioned" as he shared the image on Twitter this morning.
On May 2 this year, Mr Yassin shared two screenshots showing a Twitter interaction between Fox and another Twitter user. During the exchange, Fox shared a TikTok and wrote "Dear Black people, stop making everything about you." The Twitter user replied to the former actor: "F*-k off you Racist Pr**k."
"Remove your tweet and apologise, or get a lawyer," Fox told the Twitter user on May 1. Sharing the screenshots the next day, Mr Yassin captioned the images: "F*** off your racist pr*** @lozzafox." @lozzafox is the handle Fox uses to share posts from his verified Twitter account.
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Responding to Mr Yassin's tweet on May 2, Fox wrote in a tweet: "Hey Mukhtar. You are going to need to have the below as your pinned tweet for six months. I apologise to @LozzaFox for my baseless and defamation slur. I retract my statement fully and I apologise for any hurt caused. You have until 5pm, or I would get yourself a good lawyer."
Mr Yassin didn't delete his tweet and has stood by his claims several times since his original post. Today, after revealing Fox was suing him, the Twitter user shared a picture of a piece of paper showing: "Laurence Fox (Claimant) and Mukhtar Ali Yassin (Defendant)". He captioned the image: "It's really happening."
"I said it before and I'll say it again. I will not be bullied," Mr Yassin wrote in an additional tweet after sharing that he will be using Martin Lewis (@mlewislawyer) as his defence lawyer for the case. Mr Lewis acted on behalf of Jack Monroe when the food blogger won a libel action case against Katie Hopkins in 2017.
Fox is yet to address any of Mr Yassin's tweets shared online today. This morning, the former actor was slammed by Twitter users over his response to Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan's plans to celebrate Black culture and creativity with a new event set to be held next month.
The Twitter user shared this image with their followers today (@I_amMukhtar/twitter)"NEW: I’m excited to introduce a brand new event, taking place in Trafalgar Square on 2 September. Black on the Square is a free celebration of Black culture and creativity. With fantastic music, spoken word, dance, art and food, you won’t want to miss it," Mr Khan tweeted as he shared the announcement.
Fox quote-tweeted Mr Khan's post to his 391,100 followers and wrote: "Can’t wait. As someone who has recently racially transitioned, I’m glad my culture is going to be celebrated! It’s been a long journey. First the hair curling, then the course of white blockers. It’s just great to finally be myself."
The 45-year-old aspiring politician attached a picture of himself wearing a wig, with his face covered in an unnatural amount of fake tan. The tweet from Fox was slammed by hundreds of Twitter users, with some accusing the controversial commentator of Blackface. Blackface refers to when someone (typically with white skin) paints their face darker to resemble a black person. It is viewed as racist and deeply offensive.
The Mirror has approached Laurence Fox for comment on this story.
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