Nicky Doll, a prominent star from RuPaul’s Drag Race and the host of Drag Race France, has initiated legal proceedings against British actor and conservative activist Laurence Fox. The lawsuit follows Fox's inflammatory comments on social media, where he labeled drag queens as "deviant little pedos" after their appearance in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The controversial performance, titled "Festivity," was designed to celebrate diversity and inclusion. However, it sparked outrage among certain conservative circles, who misconstrued it as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s "The Last Supper." Despite this, Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly clarified on French television that the inspiration for the scene was rooted in Greek mythology, not religious imagery.
Fox took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his disdain, writing, "No point in getting wound up when the child f---ers want to wind you up. Just laugh at the deviant little pedos. Eternity is a bitch." Nicky Doll, who was one of the drag performers in the ceremony, did not take these accusations lightly. She responded by reposting Fox’s comments with a strong message: "Since you didn't learn the first time around when you called my friend @crystalwillseeu a pedo, I'm going to show you that you don't get to write things like that about queer people for the fun and the misinformation of it and go away with it. See you in court, again, @LozzaFox!"
True to her word, Nicky has pursued legal action. On Friday, her attorney, Anne-Sophie Laguens, announced that they had officially filed a defamation lawsuit against Laurence Fox and other individuals who spread similar defamatory content on X.
"Nicky Doll, who has faced years of insults and hate speech, has now been subjected to an unprecedented wave of hatred, including death threats, following her performance in the 'Festivity' tableau," the press release stated. "These attacks go beyond artistic critique and delve into dangerous territory, as they equate drag performances with pedophilia—a baseless and deeply harmful accusation."
The legal action aims to address and counter any publication or message that falsely associates Nicky Doll’s performance with pedophilia. "This lawsuit is a necessary step to ensure that such defamatory statements do not go unchallenged," the statement emphasized.
While representatives for Fox did not respond to requests for comment, Nicky Doll took to social media again, sharing her lawyer’s statement and declaring, "I will no longer allow myself or other queer people to be defamed and demonized. If love doesn’t work, then justice will. See you in court."
Nicky Doll’s lawsuit is part of a broader reaction to the online hate that followed the Olympic ceremony. French DJ Barbara Butch, who also participated in the performance, has filed multiple police complaints after receiving threats of death, torture, and rape. French authorities have since opened an investigation into the death threats directed at Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director.
This is not the first time Laurence Fox has been involved in a legal battle over defamatory comments. In January, RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Crystal and former Stonewall chair Simon Blake won a libel case against Fox after he falsely accused them of being pedophiles. Fox's attempt to countersue for being called a racist was dismissed by the court.
Reflecting on her experience, Crystal told Entertainment Weekly, "I've said it before, but pedophilia is one of the oldest and most damaging homophobic tropes. Since Mr. Fox used that word about me, I have been relabeled as such dozens of times, been physically threatened, and feared for my safety in public. This judgment unequivocally states that his tweet was defamatory and that it caused me harm."
Nicky Doll, who gained international recognition as the first French contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12, continues to be a leading figure in the drag community as the host of Drag Race France. Meanwhile, Fox’s most recent on-screen role was portraying Hunter Biden in the 2022 film My Son Hunter, distributed by Breitbart News.