Daily Mail Pays Out in Defamation Lawsuit Over JWT Coverage

British Newspaper the Daily Mail has paid "substantial damages" and issued an apology to Wunderman Thompson global creative director Jo Wallace following its coverage of a discrimination lawsuit brought against the business under its former title JWT. Last year, The Daily Mail (along with several other British news outlets) covered the lawsuit brought against JWT—which was later merged into WPP’s Wunderman Thompson—by laid-off creatives Chas Bayfield and Dave Jenner. The Daily Mail's reporting centered on a U.K. tribunal that determined JWT had discriminated against the two male creative directors. Bayfield and Jenner claimed they were terminated because they were straight, white, middle-aged men. While the tribunal agreed the agency had committed sex discrimination, victimization and unfair dismissal, it dismissed claims of discrimination based on the men’s sexual orientation, age and race. In the aftermath of the court's decision, the Daily Mail ran a series of untrue allegations targeted at Wallace. Among these was the claim that she was personally responsible for the sacking of Bayfield and Jenner. This incorrect line of reporting was based on comments Wallace made at a 2018 conference when she promised to "obliterate" JWT’s reputation as an agency full of white, privileged, straight British men. The tabloid also printed intimate photographs of Wallace, which breached copyright, alongside details of her private life. The coverage was met with condemnation from across the industry, with both Wunderman Thompson and WPP issuing statements in support for the experienced creative director. Now, in a defamation settlement, The Daily Mail has paid an undisclosed amount to Wallace, issued an apology and promised not to republish the offending words or images. Setting the record straight In the ruling, The Daily Mail’s lawyer said it offered “sincere apologies” for any distress, embarrassment and upset caused to Wallace. “The defendant accepts there was and is no truth in the allegations advanced in The Daily Mail article and that her copyright in the photographs were infringed,” reads the court statement. “The defendant is happy to set the record straight and apologize to the claimant for the breach of her rights and for the distress caused to her by its publication of the articles.” Wallace has tweeted her thanks to all those who supported her as she took action against the Mail. https://twitter.com/JoWallaceTweets/status/1501532573696241666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1501532573696241666%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FJoWallaceTweets2Fstatus2F1501532573696241666widget%3DTweet Daily Mail Blasted for Coverage of Lawsuit Claiming JWT Discriminated Against Men

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Daily Mail Pays Out in Defamation Lawsuit Over JWT Coverage

Newspaper apologizes for 'distress' caused in settlement

Rebecca Stewart

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Rebecca Stewart