Laurence Fox lost a High Court defamation case against two people he called pedophiles on social media.

The actor-turned-politician was sued by former Stonewall administrator Simon Blake and drag performer Crystal.

In an exchange on X, formerly Twitter, about Sainsbury's decision to mark Black History Month, Fox referred to the two as “paedophiles.”

High Court Judge Ms Collins Rice said Fox's label was “harmful, defamatory and baseless”.

He said he made no attempt to prove to the court that these allegations were true and that “the law offers few defenses for defaming this sort of thing.”

In her written evidence for the case, Crystal, a former RuPaul's Drag Race contestant whose real name is Colin Seymour, said she had faced “overwhelming and distressing” abuse after Fox's tweet.

He added that he felt less confident as a drag performer as a result of Fox's accusations.

Blake, now chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, said the incorrect suggestion that gay men are pedophiles is “a trope as old as the hills”.

Reclamation Party founder Fox, who said at the time he would boycott the supermarket, countersued Blake and Seymour over tweets accusing him of racism.

Fox also attempted to sue broadcaster Nicola Thorp for the same reason.

However, the judge did not rule on whether describing Fox as “racist” was “substantially true,” after finding that the three tweets in his countersuit were unlikely to cause serious harm to his reputation.

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Fox described the ruling in his libel case as a “nothing burger”.

He said: “It means we are going to have to go back to court, appeal, to understand the meaning of this word.

“What is a racist? Every person in this country knows what a racist is, except the people who dominate every national institution we have.”

In a statement published on

“I want to say again that I was not happy to bring this case, nor did I do so lightly. Mr. Fox could have made this go away very quickly with a meaningful apology and settlement.”

He added: “I hope this makes some difference to the current demonization of queer people as 'hairdressers' or 'dangerous.'

“This is a lesson: we will not accept it.”

Thorp wrote in X: “It is time for Mr Fox to accept that any damage to his reputation is his own fault.”

Previously, he was known for his work as an actor, with high-profile roles as DS James Hathaway in the ITV series Lewis, the Inspector Morse spin-off detective show, which ended in 2015.

The 45-year-old, who has two children with ex-wife Billie Piper, has devoted more time to politics in recent years.

In 2021 he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of London as a candidate for the Reclamation Party. He also stood in the June by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, a seat previously held by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.