Rebekah Vardy is suing Coleen Rooney – here’s why

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Tuesday, 23rd June 2020, 11:49 am

Updated Tuesday, 23rd June 2020, 11:51 amRebekah Vardy is said to be suing Coleen Rooney for defamation (Photo: Getty Images)

On Tuesday 23 June, Daniel Wittenberg posted on Twitter, “CONFIRMED: Rebekah Vardy is suing Coleen Rooney for libel!”

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He also included a screenshot, which appears to show the details of Vardy’s claim. In this image, the case type is described as “Defamation – libel and slander.” The date of the claim appears to be 12 June 2020.

In a later tweet, Wittenberg said that he had sourced the information from litigation analytics website, Solomonic.

Why is Rebekah Vardy suing Coleen Rooney?

In October 2019, author and TV personality, Coleen Rooney, claimed on Twitter that she had spent the previous five months leaking false stories onto her private Instagram account in order to find out who had been sharing personal stories about her and her family with the press.

In the lengthy Twitter post Rooney alleged that former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! contestant, Rebekah Vardy – or someone using Rebekah Vardy’s account – had been responsible for leaks to The Sun Newspaper.

Addressing Rooney, Vardy wrote, “I never speak to anyone about you as various journalists who have asked me to over the years can vouch for.”

Vardy’s statement also said that “various people” have had access to her Instagram account and password in the past, suggesting that perhaps a friend or former employee was really responsible for passing information on to the media.

The two never publicly reached an agreement over the incident. Now it seems that Vardy is taking things one step further and suing Rooney for her public accusations.

What is defamation?

According to solicitors, DAS Law, there is no statutory definition of defamation. However, it is generally “considered to be an untrue spoken or written expression, referring to a person, which when published, is deemed harmful or likely to harm the reputation of an individual.”

Libel is defamation in written or recorded form, such as a tweet or video. Slander is spoken defamation, such as accusations made during a public event.

For Coleen Rooney to win the case against Rebekah Vardy, she and her legal team will be required to prove that her allegations are true.