The man with the golden triceps, Robert Irwin, may be used to wrestling crocodiles in the wild, however he might be looking to undertake a new type of battle in the legal arena against a far more dangerous opponent: Pauline Hanson. The young Irwin has threatened to sue the One Nation leader for defamation over the use of his image in her cartoon series Please Explain.
On Friday night legal representatives of Robert Irwin sent a cease and desist letter to the studio team that produces Hanson’s attempt at a satirical cartoon, just hours after the video was uploaded to YouTube.
Irwin has demanded that the video be taken down from all platforms.
The video in question was titled ‘The State Of Queensland’, and featured caricatures of Sunshine State icons Robert Irwin and Bluey taking a tour around Queensland and finding out it wasn’t quite up to scratch.
Both Irwin and the cartoon dog were recently unveiled as the state’s new tourism ambassadors, hence their inclusion in the parody cartoon.
Robert Irwin’s letter has alleged that he was mocked by the depiction of him in Please Explain, and also alleged that the use of his likeness in the episode was “unauthorised and deceptive”.
“The unauthorised use of our client’s image in this context is particularly egregious, as it manipulates the truth and misrepresents our client’s personality, values, and beliefs,” reads the letter from Irwin’s legal team, as per Daily Mail.
The publication also confirmed that Pauline Hanson will fight the allegations and has employed defamation lawyer extraordinaire Sue Chrysanthou SC. Chrysanthou is also handling Hanson’s current racial discrimination trial brought forward by Senator Mehreen Faruqi.
The studio has until 5pm on Monday, June 17, to remove the video or else the case may be taken to the Federal Court.
[Image: Getty / YouTube]
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