Joey Barton issues grovelling apology to Jeremy Vine and pays five-figure sum over defamatory posts
Joey Barton has issued an apology to Jeremy Vine
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Joey Barton has taken to social media to post an apology to Jeremy Vine and paid £75,000 to settle a defamation claim over his derogatory posts.
The former Bristol Rovers manager lost the libel case brought by Vine last month after a judge deemed 11 of his social media posts could have been deemed defamatory towards the TV presenter.
The exchange between the pair started when Vine hit out at Barton for comparing female football pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West.
Barton then published several posts including the hashtag 'bikenonce' and the former Premier League star has no issued an apology on social media as well as coughing up £75,000 to settle the case.
“Between 8 and 12 January 2024 I published 11 posts which accused Jeremy Vine of having a sexual interest in children, and created a hashtag which made the same allegations, which were viewed millions of times," his statement read.
"I recognise that this is a very serious allegation. It is untrue.
"I do not believe that Mr Vine has a sexual interest in children, and I wish to set the record straight.
"I also published posts during the same period in which I referred to Mr Vine having advocated forced vaccination during the Covid 19 pandemic, based upon a video clip of his TV programme.
"I accept that he did not advocate this policy and that the video clip has been edited to give a misleading impression of what he was in fact saying.
"I then taunted and abused Mr Vine for bringing a legal complaint against me.
"I have agreed not to make the same allegations again about Mr Vine and I apologise to him for the distress he has suffered.
"To resolve his claims against me in defamation and harassment, I have agreed to pay Mr Vine £75,000 in damages and his legal costs.”
Jeremy Vine took Joey Barton to court
PA
Aluko also confirmed earlier this year she had taken legal action against Barton over his social media posts.
Speaking back in January, the former England women's footballer said she 'felt under threat' and was frightened over the whole ordeal.
“Now, I’m open and honest and I’m human and I’m more than happy to admit that I’ve been scared this week,” she said in a video on Instagram.
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Joey Barton is also facing legal action from Eni Aluko
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“I’ve genuinely been scared this week. I didn’t leave my house until Friday and I’m now abroad. It’s really important to say that online abuse has a direct impact on your safety and how you feel and how safe you feel in real life.
“I’ve felt under threat this week. I’ve felt like something is going to happen to me. And I don’t say that for anyone to feel sorry for me – I say that for people to understand the reality and the impact that hate speech has, the impact that racism has, the impact that sexism has, the impact that misogyny has on all of us females in the game, in sports broadcasting.
“That’s the real impact – and it’s not an isolated incident, this is now showing up as a culture in the game, from certain fan bases and certain people.
"They’re creating a culture where people don’t want to go to work, people don’t want to leave their house, people feel under threat. Obviously there’s a big impact on mental health as well.”