Pauline Hanson hits back at Robert Irwin after he threatened to sue over his inclusion in One Nation cartoon featuring Bluey
Pauline Hanson has fired back at Robert Irwin, telling him to “clean up” after he sent a cease and desist letter to One Nation over the use of his likeness in a cartoon.
Ms. Hanson’s animated series “Please Explore” featured a likeness of the youngest Irwin alongside the famous cartoon dog Bluey in Friday’s final episode.
The episode, entitled ‘The state of Queensland‘, satirically shows Irwin and Bluey exploring the state after the pair were unveiled as the faces of their new tourism campaign.
However, just hours after the video was published, FC Lawyers sent a cease and desist order on Irwin’s behalf to StepMates Studios, the series’ production team.
Ms Hanson has now hit back at the letter by asking how her cartoon defamed Irwin and insisted he should find it funny.
“Lighten up, mate, your dad was a larrikin, an icon for Australia and the world, and he would have had a good laugh about it,” she said, reports Newscorp.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has hit back at Robert Irwin after he sent the party a cease and desist order over the latest episode of ‘PleaseExplain’
The firefighter-senator’s YouTube series included an episode Friday satirically portraying Irwin and the ABC children’s cartoon character Bluey (pictured)
Ms Hanson said One Nation plans to fight the lawsuit because the cartoon wasn’t even about Irwin in the first place.
‘How is he going to fight slander? “It’s not about him, it’s about the issues in Queensland,” she said.
She also suggested that he should be grateful that he would be appearing in the surprisingly popular web series.
“I have MPs asking me when they can appear in the cartoon, we make people pay to be in it, so I gave him a free kick,” she said.
‘And [Irwin] wants to sue me about it.’
One Nation chief of staff James Ashby also confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the party would oppose the contents of the letter and had engaged defamation expert Sue Chrysanthou SC.
The letter from Zoe Naylor of FC Lawyers to the animation studio’s founders, Mark Nicholson and Sebastian Peart, states that their portrayal of Irwin ‘contains defamation’.
Ms Naylor added that the cartoon was an “unauthorized and misleading use of our client’s image” and demanded that the studio remove the video from all platforms.
Irwin (pictured) sent legal letters to the production company behind Pauline Hanson’s cartoon within hours of uploading
Ms Hanson told Irwin to take the matter as a joke, as his father, legendary conservationist Steve Irwin, would have done.
In the episode, enthusiastic Irwin character Bluey tries to show all the positive things the Sunshine State has to offer.
But the pair are confronted with exactly the same problems that residents there struggle with every day.
The duo at one point mistake a long queue at famed Movie World theme park for a rental inspection, highlighting Queensland’s dire housing crisis.
They are also targeted by foul-mouthed delinquents who steal their car and ‘bash’ Bluey.
When he is taken to hospital, they are told there will be a wait of ‘six months’.
The episode ends with a somber Irwin saying, “I can’t believe this is the state of Queensland”.
Ms Hanson and One Nation chief of staff James Ashby told the younger Irwin to be more like his father Steve, who they claim would have had a “good laugh” at the cartoon
Ms Naylor’s letter claims the cartoon has ‘not only tarnished our client’s reputation, but also misled the public, causing significant damage to our client’s brand and image’.
“The unauthorized use of our client’s image in this context is particularly egregious as it manipulates the truth and misrepresents our client’s personality, values and beliefs.”
The lawyer demanded that StepMates Studios remove the cartoon from all social media platforms and elsewhere online.
Ms Naylor also ordered them to stop playing Irwin without permission in the future.
They have until 5 p.m. Monday to comply, or the company could escalate the matter to federal court.
