Posting a lengthy statement to Facebook this afternoon, Daniel Johns has announced he has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Sunday Telegraph.
More officially, the suit is lodged against Nationwide News, the publisher of the Sunday Tele, for a recent tabloid piece run on Johns that alleged he was a frequent patron of Sydney brothel, The Kastle.
“Today I commenced defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, its editor and a journalist.” he wrote.
“No contact was made with me or my representatives to check the facts before the article was published. I have asked the newspaper for an apology and retraction. Neither has been provided. I have now issued legal proceedings in order to publicly correct the facts and vindicate my reputation.”
The original article described The Kastle as specialising in bondage, S&M, ‘brown showers’ and ‘adult babies’. Upon the article’s publication, Johns denied the allegations, while club owner Mistress Scarlett also denied Johns ever frequenting the venue.
“In response to today’s Daily Telegraph article, we state that Daniel Johns was not on the premises nor has been previously. We’re unsure of this false information,” she posted to Twitter.
“In our 30 year history, we’ve never revealed the identity of clients and take privacy very seriously.”
In response to today’s Daily Telegraph article, we state that Daniel Johns was not on the premises nor has been previously. We’re unsure of the source of this false information. In our 30 year history, we’ve never revealed the identity of clients and take privacy very seriously.
— Mistress Scarlett (@TheKastleSydney) August 11, 2019
The claim lodged to the Supreme Court of Victoria states that the article suggested Johns ‘has been gravely injured’ by the piece and that his ability to work has been affected due to the stress of the situation and attention that has surrounded him as a result.
Nationwide News has not commented publicly.
