Laurence Fox, who wore blackface in August, says racism claims left him financially ruined
Laurence Fox arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, Chancery Lane on November 24, 2023 (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Reclaim Party founder and former GB News presenter Laurence Fox has told the High Court allegations that he is racist have left him in financial ruin and unable to get a mortgage.
The right-wing pundit is currently in the middle of a defamation trial for calling drag star Crystal – real name Colin Seymour – and former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake “pedophiles”, after they labelled him “racist” for urging his followers to boycott Sainsbury’s in 2020 because it celebrated Black History Month.
Fox denies being a racist and is counter-suing the pair, alongside Coronation Street actress Nicola Thorp, over the claims.
In a 24-page statement, which has been widely quoted, the Lewis star said he was earning between £500,000 and £600,000 a year from acting in 2020.
The racism claims were a “a career-ending word, and a reputation-destroying allegation” which left him without an agent and unable to get a mortgage from his bank, he claimed.
“It was very hurtful, firstly as it is not true, and secondly because it was baseless,” he wrote. “It felt as if the claimants had posted it to try and destroy me.
“I felt that one of the most important things I had in this world was my good name, and they were trying to ruin it.”
He went on to say that his ex-wife, Doctor Who star Billie Piper, expressed concern about the safety of their two children in Fox’s home, due to faeces being pushed through his door following the allegations.
“She had every right to feel that way, every mother would be worried,” Fox added.
The actor also claimed he was put up for roles in The Batman and Succession, as well as other gigs on major streaming services, before the defamation case.
“It’s a source of incredible sadness to me that my skill set, which has been highly trained, used at great length over 23 or 24 years, it’s just been completely put away.”
Counsel for Seymour, Blake and Thorp told the court that her clients “honestly believed, and continue honestly to believe, that Mr Fox is a racist”.
Fox “has made a number of highly controversial statements about race”, Lorna Skinner KC said.
“If, and to the extent that Mr Fox has been harmed in his reputation, it is his own conduct and not the claimants’ comments on it that caused that harm.”
Fox has made a name for himself as a right-wing activist and has courted controversy on a number of occasions, including sexist comments that resulted in him being sacked from GB News and sharing photographs of himself in blackface in August.
The trial continues.
