Australian Teen With Wacky Mullet Sues The Media For Making A Meme Out Of His Haircut
from the did-streisand-have-a-mullet dept
We already know how bizarre defamation rules in Australia can be, but apparently even they have some limits down under. A teenager named Ali Ziggi Mosslmani (who goes by "Ziggy") got a bit of internet fame last year when a photographer, Jeremy Nool, took a picture of him at a birthday party and posted it to his Facebook page. People noticed Ziggy's somewhat unique mullet haircut, and the picture started to go viral:
Judge Gibson said Mosslmani’s case was “overpleaded” and appeared to be designed to “claim as many imputations as possible while simultaneously avoiding a defence of honest opinion or justification”.I'm still confused as to how an "imputation" that someone "is a ridiculous person because he wears a controversial haircut" could possibly be defamation, but, hey, that's Australia.
The only imputation the judge allowed was that “the plaintiff is a ridiculous person because he wears a controversial haircut”.
“The plaintiff is entitled to plead an imputation of condition – namely being a ridiculous person for having such a hairstyle – as well as an imputation amounting to an act. This imputation is reasonably capable of being conveyed and will go to the jury”.
The imputation that he was “hideously ugly” was rejected despite the headline saying the complainant had a “ridiculous haircut” .
In the meantime, Ziggy will have to pay some of the costs of the media organizations he sued for the overpleading efforts. And the judge has suggested that maybe he should recognize the humor in this and the fact that it's not all negative:
District Court judge Judith Gibson mulled over the evidence and declared that Mosslmani’s Texas tailgate “generated a great deal of interest on the internet, most of it humorous.”In other words, yes, the judge found the memes funny herself. She also noted that all the "likes" on the Facebook post suggested that people liked the image, rather than that they were mocking Ziggy.
“However, the publication goes on to say that the photograph has generated 11,415 comments, 10,000 likes and 1.7m views, which suggests that the hairstyle has its fans and opponents, but is not indicative of ugliness; to the contrary, 10,000 people pressed the ‘like’ button,” Judge Gibson said.Meanwhile, this lawsuit and ruling is creating something of a Streisand Effect. Before this, it seemed that the meme was mostly known in Australia, but thanks to the lawsuit, it's going global. I hadn't seen it prior to the lawsuit, but now it's everywhere. And the photographer who took the image, Nool, seems to be having a lot of fun with it. He got to go on an Australian morning TV program and has been happily sharing the meme'd images himself:
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Filed Under: ali ziggi mosslmani, australia, defamation, imputations, jeremy nool, memes, mullet, mullet meme, reputation, ziggy mosslmani
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I'd particularly try to let some hair grow in the top and paint a white strip in the middle to make it look like Pepe le pew for added lulz after seeing the memes.
It seems to me people kind of lost their sense of humor lately.
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She might be a babe, but looking a the large size of her hand in that last pic makes me think she might have a case of the Man Hands
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Nah, it's his sisters friends. :)
No matter how good looking... I bet somewhere... someone... is tired of her shit.
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Am I the only one....?
If he can still get a girl like that with that stupid haircut, it means he has a LOT going for him other than just physical appearance...
*shrugs*
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Wrong target?
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Probably needs a Tic Tac
Sounds familiar...
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Too much time in the sun.
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I see what you did there.
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I could have saluted him, but I won't
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The whole reason for a such a haircut is to get attention.
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He could always start going by Ziggi and get giggity
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He could always get giggity and start going by Ziggity. Or "big zit"
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The case itself has resulted in one of the greatest Australian legal documents EVER!
for example [at 5]
(iv) That the plaintiff, by reason of his mullet hairstyle, has justifiably exposed himself to ridicule by the public.
(v) The plaintiff is a joke.
(vi) The plaintiff is a ridiculous person.
(vii) The plaintiff is hideously ugly.
(viii) The plaintiff is a ridiculous person because he wears a silly haircut.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha
The whole Judgement for your reading pleasure :)
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Here's the link I tried to post using html code https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/580ead70e4b058596cba0b22
grumbles about now not needing html and can now use standard reddit codes.. *thinks*.. hmmm awesome!
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Imagine another world war or some great catastrophe like a modern-day great depression? How will all of these extremely sensitive fragile flowers take care of themselves and their loved ones in the face of real tragedy and deprivation? I think we've doomed ourselves as a species as the innate ability to thrive under difficult circumstances has been wiped from our collective DNA.
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How would you feel if someone takes your photo without your permission and turns it into a meme
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Don't generalize people easily
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