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John Barilaro wins defamation lawsuit against Jordan Shanks

John Barilaro faced a considerable amount of online bullying by Jordan Shanks for over a year. The comedian and Youtuber now have to pay $715 000 in damages to the retired politician. 

Former politician awarded $715 000 in damages

Thus far, the former deputy premier has resigned from his position in October 2021 due to the bullying and considerable defamation of his character by Jordan Shanks. 

Right now, Jordan Shanks faces additional and more serious charges with concerns contempt of court. According to SBS, Shanks tried to intimidate John’s lawyers and himself from continuing the lawsuit. 

“You’ve got to be either courageous or stupid to take on Google, maybe it’s a bit of both,”

To date, Mr. Barilaro told the court that he planned on retiring from his position in 2023 but sped up the process due to the cyber-bullying and attacks made against him. 

John Barilaro vindicated

So far, the court heard that John Barilaro faced a group of people wearing “Bruv” t-shirts which referenced Jordan Shanks previous video about Barilaro. In this video, Jordan claimed that John committed perjury and blackmailed individuals. 

The court found Mr. Shanks had engaged in cyber-bullying and defamation of John Barilaro. Photo: AAP/Luke Costin

In this settlement, the court ruled that Mr. Barilaro was indeed traumatized by the bullying that took place and that the videos made about him had defamed him. 

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Previously, Google defended the case but backed out after it found the videos posted on Jordan’s friendlyjordies Youtube channel in 2020. Shanks was also guilty of using vindictive language that intentionally described John as an innuendo, a ‘wog’, and a ‘greasy little scrotum’

As a result, John Barilaro retired prematurely due to the bullying. After the court proceedings ended, John Barilaro said he felt vindicated but ultimately wanted an apology from Google.

Shannon Alexander

Shannon Alexander is a writer who is fascinated by all things pop culture. The use of language in all its different forms has always intrigued her which ultimately led to her completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics and Literature studies. Right now, she is passionate about telling stories that matter most to people. When she isn't writing away about your daily dose of celebrity news and entertainment, you can find her getting lost in a good thriller book.