Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young To Sue ZOO Weekly Magazine Over Photoshopped Bikini Image

Upper echelon of haute literature, Australia’s most tasteful publication ZOO Weekly will soon undergo a civic trial led by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, launched over a photoshopped bikini picture which was published by ZOO Weekly in June 2012.

Today, Sarah Hanson Young’s first stages of battle with ZOO have seen her emerge victorious, after a Sydney judge ruled that the Senator can argue that the offending photo was used in an act of sexual objectification. 

The photo came to attention in June 2012 among the magazine’s horrifically distasteful campaign to find “Australia’s Hottest Asylum Seeker” which caused significant backlash, a retraction and a formal apology from the magazine’s editor Tim Keen.

The photo was put forward by the magazine to encourage the Senator to participate in a “tasteful” lingerie shoot, a deal which ZOO attempted to sweeten by offering to house a boatload of asylum seekers at their HQ. The photo was captioned, “If Sarah Hanson-Young wants more asylum seekers on Australian shores, then this is one way to make sure they keep coming. We know she’ll have her knockers if she agrees, but we’re confident she’ll realise it’s good for the country.”

Today, Sarah Hanson-Young’s arguments of the photo defaming her as “not a serious person” were agreed to in court, as Justice McCallum stated, according to SMH: “…by reason of her pro asylum seeker stance, the plaintiff was justifiably exposed to ridicule”. A civic trial will begin in the following months on the issue.

Unfortunately, a lawsuit regarding ZOO’s appalling photoshop skills in general and terrible dexterity with front page puns are yet to be reported. 

Via SMHnews.com.au
Title photo by William West via Getty.

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