Justice Steyn said Rooney had proved the libel was ‘substantially true’
Rebekah Vardy has spoken out after losing her libel case against Coleen Rooney, saying she is “extremely sad and disappointed”.
Vardy, 40, sued Rooney, 36, after being publicly accused of leaking “false stories” to the media in a viral social media post in October 2019, with a trial taking place at the High Court in London in May.
Judge, Justice Steyn on Friday found that Rooney had succeeded in establishing that the essence of the libel was “substantially true” and that Wayne Rooney’s wife’s reveal post was a “a matter of public interest” due to “the undesirable practice of information (in the nature of mere gossip) about celebrities’ private lives being disclosed to the press by trusted individuals”.
The judge also found Vardy’s evidence was “nanifestly inconsistent… evasive or implausible”.
In a statement after the verdict, Vardy questioned Justice Steyn’s findings.
“I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the Judge’s finding.”
“The judge accepted that publication of Coleen’s Post was not in the ‘public interest’ and she also rejected her claim that I was the ‘Secret Wag’. But as for the rest of her judgement, she got it wrong and this is something I cannot accept.”
“I am extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the Judge has reached. It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the Judge’s finding,” Vardy wrote.
She went on to say that she and her family and even “my unborn baby” were subjected to disgusting messages and vile abuse following Coleen’s post and these have continued even during the course of the trial”. She asked, now that the case had concluded, that the abuse “stop” and hanked “everyone who has supported me.”
Rooney also shared a statement saying she was “pleased” by the verdict and insisting she had “no ill will” against Vardy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgmSz7WqzJN/
The statement continued: “It was not a case I ever sought or wanted.
“Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made constant efforts to avoid the need for such a public and drawn out court case.
“But all my efforts to do so were knocked back by Mrs Vardy and her lawyers.
“This left me with no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun.”
This has been a burden in my life for a few years now and finally I have got to the bottom of it…… pic.twitter.com/0YqJAoXuK1
— Coleen Rooney (@ColeenRoo) October 9, 2019
Rooney said the leaks from her private Instagram account began in 2017 and continued for almost two years, “intruding on my privacy and that of my family”.
“Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill will, today’s judgement makes clear that I was right in what I said in my Instagram posts.”
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