Erin Molan sues Daily Mail for painting her as a“racist”
Nine sports presenter Erin Molan is suing the Daily Mail Australia after they published a story earlier this year that she says paints her as a blatant “racist” after she said “hooka looka mooka hooka fooka” on radio.
The TV star also alleges the outlet is responsible for contributing to online bullying, including an Instagram post in which former NRL star John Hopoate called her a “racist b***h”.
Ms Molan copped criticism in June for uttering the strange phrase on 2GB’s NRL program Continuous Call after a reference to pronouncing player names.
Ms Molan can be heard saying “Dad!” twice and then “hooka looka mooka hooka fooka” in an accent before her co-host replies “What? I’m not sure what you said then”.
Ms Molan apologised for the “clumsy” comments but vehemently denies that she was mocking Polynesian names and said she was referencing a story previously told on the show.
In court documents filed September 12 and seen by NCA NewsWire, Ms Molan alleges that the media outlet targeted her in a defamatory campaign that incorrectly quoted her as saying that the comment was an “in-joke”.
Daily Mail also reportedly stated she refused to apologise.
The Wide World of Sports presenter is suing over a story published on June 5 entitled “Erin Molan refuses to apologise for her ‘hooka looka mooka’ jibe on live radio — as Pacific Islander women slam her for being ‘complicit in racism’ by mocking their names”.
She is also suing over two tweets that shared the story.
Ms Molan says that the story suggests she mocked Pacific Islander names and refused to apologise.
She says this is suggested by her inability to pronounce Pacific Islander names which painted her as racist and incompetent and unfit to be an NRL commentator.
Ms Molan has gone on to claim that the story spawned further criticism including a Change.org petition calling for her to be fired.
A tweet from Victorian MP Dustin Halse and an Instagram post was made where Mr Hopoate wrote: “It was an inside joke between colleagues so it’s OK. Just like when I accidentally trip this RACIST BITCH over and she falls and scrapes her RACIST mouth on the ground.”
These were all a “natural and probable consequence” of the Daily Mail story and increase her claim to damages, Ms Molan claims.
The lawsuit states that the story and two tweets “gravely injured” her reputation and caused her hurt and embarrassment.
Daily Mail Australia told NCA NewsWire it is “strenuously defending the proceedings” and will file a defence shortly in accordance with court rules.