French drag performer Nicky Doll has taken legal action against British actor and politician Laurence Fox after he lashed out at drag queens involved in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony and called them “deviant little pedos” on social media.
The July 26 ceremony, which featured a group of drag artists portraying Greek gods and has been perceived by some as a parody of Leonardo va Vinci’s religious painting “The Last Supper,” sparked debate worldwide. Fox, posted on X about the performance, saying: “No point in getting wound up when the child f**kers want to wind you up. Just laugh at the deviant little pedos. Eternity is a b***h.”
Nicky Doll, whose real name is Karl Sanchez, announced the lawsuit through a statement from lawyer Anne Sophie-Laguens. The statement detailed that performers faced online harassment and threats following the July 26 ceremony.
“Stop Homophobia lawyers have received numerous reports of incitement to hatred, insults, online harassment, threats and defamation,” the statement read. It added that Sanchez, who gained international recognition as a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” has experienced “an unprecedented wave of animosity and malice” since the performance.
“These messages go far beyond artistic criticism and for some convey odious and defamatory amalgams, equating drag performance to pedophilia,” the statement added. “These comparisons are serious and unacceptable. It is in this sense that justice has been seized, and that any publication or message equating Nicky Doll’s performance with the encouragement of pedophilia practices will be reported.”
In a separate statement to Today.com, Sanchez addressed Fox directly: “I’m about to sue you again for defamation – the same exact topic that you were sued on and lost.” The drag performer added: “This is my kind of activism. I’m going to make him pay for the things that everybody else is saying, because I want to show that it is time now to stop labeling queer people in an evil way.”
This is not Fox’s first encounter with legal action involving a drag performer. He recently lost a High Court libel case filed by Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal. Fox was ordered to pay £90,000 ($115,200) per person in damages. The case stemmed from Fox’s online comments directed at Blake and Crystal after he faced criticism for his remarks about Sainsbury’s plans for safe spaces for Black employees.
French DJ and activist Barbara Butch has also filed a police report after receiving death threats for her participation in an Olympics opening ceremony performance, along with Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the event.
Fox is a leader of the Reclaim Party. His last credit as an actor was playing Hunter Biden in Breitbart TV’s “My Son Hunter” (2022).
Elsa Keslassy contributed to this report.
