Pauline Hanson is standing firm in her refusal to remove a satirical cartoon about Robert Irwin after he threatened legal action, as a leading lawyer predicts she has no chance of winning a defamation lawsuit.
Senator Hanson’s ‘Please Explain’ animated video series featured an image of the younger Irwin alongside famous cartoon dog Bluey in its latest episode on Friday.
The episode, titled ‘The State of queensland‘, satirically shows Irwin and Bluey exploring the state after the pair were revealed as the faces of its new $9.2 million tourism campaign.
However, just hours after the video was posted, FC Lawyers, on behalf of Irwin, sent a cease and desist letter to StepMates Studios, the series’ production team.
Daily Mail Australia understands FC Lawyers gave a deadline of 5pm on Monday to remove the videos from all social media platforms.
Pauline Hanson is standing firm in her refusal to remove a satirical cartoon about Robert Irwin after he threatened legal action, as a top lawyer predicts she has no chance of winning a defamation lawsuit.
Senator Hanson’s ‘Please Explain’ animated video series featured an image of Robert Irwin (pictured) alongside famous cartoon dog Bluey in its latest episode on Friday.
But Senator Hanson refused to comply and instead urged the wildlife warrior to see the funny side of the video which has already been viewed more than half a million times.
“I can safely say that we will not be deleting the episode and I hope Robert decides to chill out a bit,” she wrote on social media.
Senator Hanson added: “I look forward to the day when Robert and I can have a good laugh about this and focus on making Queensland a better state.”
His lawyers called the threat of legal action “ill-conceived” and “pointless” in a letter Monday.
It comes as a top lawyer encouraged Irwin to follow Senator Hanson’s advice to “calm down” because he had “absolutely” no chance of success with the threatened defamation suit.
Justin Quill, media and litigation partner at Thomson Greer Lawwers, said it was “clear this is a joke”.
“First of all, I don’t think it’s defamatory and even if it were, I think there are two really obvious defenses: one is opinion and the other is political discussion,” he told Today.
“I doubt he will go to court.”
In any case, One Nation chief of staff James Ashby confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that he had recruited defamation expert Sue Chrysanthou SC.
Daily Mail Australia has approached FC Lawyers for comment.
In the episode, Irwin’s enthusiastic character tries to show Bluey all the positive things the Sunshine State has to offer.
The firebrand senator’s YouTube series featured an episode on Friday in which Irwin and ABC children’s cartoon character Bluey are satirically depicted (pictured).
But the couple faces the same issues residents struggle with every day.
At one point, the duo mistakes a long queue at the famous Movie World theme park for a rental inspection, highlighting Queensland’s dire housing crisis.
They are also targeted by foul-mouthed criminals who steal their vehicle and “beat up” Bluey.
When they take him to the hospital, they are told that the wait will be “six months.”
The episode ends with a pessimistic Irwin saying, “I can’t believe this is the state of Queensland.”
On Monday, Pauline Hanson said the episode “highlighted the struggles many Queenslanders face due to the serious failures of the Miles state Labor government”.
And he added: “We will not allow that message to be closed.”
Since then, ordinary Australians have weighed in, with some calling Irwin a ‘sook’ who needs to ‘grow up’, while others have defended him and condemned Ms Hanson.
Ms Hanson and One Nation chief of staff James Ashby previously told young Irwin to be more like his father Steve, who they say “would have had a good laugh” at the cartoon (pictured: Steve Irwin).
‘Your dad would have laughed a lot at Pauline’s caricature. She grows up, stops being a snowflake! said one person.
‘I can’t believe Robert Irwin is threatening One Nation with legal action over a (fabulous) satirical cartoon. How pathetic and un-Australian. He develops a sense of humor, man,” wrote another.
“Robert Irwin is very sensitive and needs to laugh,” a third person commented.
‘Robert Irwin doesn’t seem to have thought this through. By taking action, not only did it start trending on X, but now many more people have seen the video than they would have otherwise,” wrote one more.
Others took aim at Mrs. Hanson and defended Irwin.
“The politician is Pauline Hanson and she has a history of trying to sue others when they feel offended,” one wrote.
“He likes to hand it out, but he can’t stand it, which will cost him the ballot box.”
Another added: “What about Pauline Hanson threatening legal action over Pauline Pantsdown?”
