Out Gay Sydney MP Alex Greenwich Sues Mark Latham Over Homophobic Tweets And ‘Grooming’ Slur

Out gay Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich has filed a defamation suit in the federal court against NSW One Nation MLC Mark Latham, over his homophobic tweets. 

Greenwich said that the homophobic tweets, which included anti-gay and “grooming” slurs led to him being targeted with a barrage of hateful and threatening messages. 

The federal court made the documents publicly accessible saying there was “significant public interest in this matter”. 

Attack On Peaceful LGBTQI Protestors

Latham’s comments were made on Twitter after Greenwich condemned him over the attacks on peaceful LGBTQI protestors by around 250 far-right Christian men outside a Belfield Church where the One Nation leader was due to give a speech in March 2023. 

“Mark Latham is a disgusting human being and people who are considering voting for One Nation need to realise they are voting for an extremely hateful and dangerous individual who risks causing a great deal of damage to our state,” Greenwich told the Sydney Morning Herald. 

In response, on March 30, 2023, Latham tweeted: “Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your dick up a bloke’s arse and covering it with shit?”

Greenwich said the tweet was defamatory and carried the imputation that the out gay MP “engages in disgusting sexual activities” or that he “is not a fit and proper person to be a member of the NSW Parliament because he engages in disgusting sexual activities.” 

Mark Latham Doubles Down

Despite the public outcry and calls from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Latham refused to apologise. Instead, in an interview with Daily Telegraph, Latham said, “Sometimes in public life when you throw out insults they come back at you harder and truer…So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich… When he calls someone a disgusting human being for attending a meeting in a church hall, maybe attention will turn to some of his habits… Greenwich goes into schools talking to kids about being gay. I didn’t want to be accused of anything similar, leaving that kind of content on my socials.”

Greenwich claimed that the comments were defamatory as it imputed that the MP was “a disgusting human being who goes to schools to groom children to become homosexual”, or that he “is not a fit and proper person to be a member of the NSW Parliament because he goes to schools to groom children to become homosexual.”

According to Greenwich, he was exposed to “hatred, contempt and ridicule” and had his professional reputation tarnished because of Latham’s statements. 

The Sydney MP said that following Latham’s homophobic comments he was targeted with “hateful conduct by members of the public”, which included “social media reactions, threats, repeated jibes, hatred, homophobic comments and contempt and ridicule through emails, letters and voicemails to his electorate office.” 

Greenwich termed it a “concerted attack campaign” and sought aggravated damages from Latham for defaming him.