A group of Ontario drag performers has won a major defamation case against a Facebook blogger who falsely accused them of grooming children, with a judge ordering him to pay $380,000 in damages. The ruling, handed down by Thunder Bay Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce, marks a significant legal victory against anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech and online defamation.
The case centered around Brian Webster, the administrator of a Thunder Bay-based Facebook page, who repeatedly used the term “groomer” in posts about drag story time events at libraries in Thunder Bay and Dryden. The judge ruled that Webster’s accusations were false, malicious, and intended to damage the reputations of the performers and the Rainbow Alliance Dryden (RAD), an LGBTQ+ nonprofit that was also part of the lawsuit.
“The defendant intended to smear the reputations of the individual plaintiffs and RAD,” the judge wrote in her Feb. 20 decision. “There could hardly be a more damning message than that, spread across the internet.”
The court heard that Webster’s posts and comments—which included likes and laughing emojis in response to accusations of pedophilia—had contributed to a dangerous environment for LGBTQ+ performers, who have faced increasing threats and harassment across Canada in recent years.
For Thunder Bay performer Felicia Crichton, the ruling was a moment of justice.
“I want them to know that they need to be afraid to be bigots again, because we’re tired of it,” she said. “There are receipts now.”
Crichton, a mother of four, said she had feared for her family’s safety and worried her children might hear Webster’s false accusations at school. Another plaintiff, Caitlin Hartlen, expressed concern about professional repercussions, given her work in Indigenous child and family services.
The ruling comes amid a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Canada, which have increased by 388% since 2016. Douglas Judson, the performers’ lawyer, called the decision a landmark case in establishing legal precedent against “groomer” terminology used to defame and endanger LGBTQ+ individuals.
“This was hate speech. It was malice. It was intentional,” Crichton said. “End of story.”