Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has won a defamation case against lad’s mag Zoo Weekly after the Bauer-owned titled superimposed the politician’s head onto a bikini model.
The image appeared in an issue of the magazine in June 2012. The magazine said it would house asylum seekers in return for the politician posing for a bikini shoot for the title. The agreed settlement has not been publicly disclosed.
The 34-year-old is divorced and a mother to a young daughter. She claimed the article was sexist and decided to sue the magazine to show an example to her young child.
“I’m very, very relieved this has been resolved but what I’m more thankful of is I have been able to show young women across this country that sexism does not have a place in our society,” she said.
“It shouldn’t have a place when we deal with women in the public eye or, indeed, female politicians.
“It does exist and it needs to be stamped out and stood up to when it occurs.
“Proudly I can say I took the decision to draw a line in the sand and I’ve won.”
ZOO Weekly agreed the stunt was in poor taste and issued an apology to the senator via its website. It read: “We accept that the article was in poor taste. Senator Hanson-Young has made a significant contribution to asylum seeker policy in this country. We sincerely apologise for any hurt we caused.”
