Robert Irwin threatens to sue Pauline Hanson’s One Nation over Please Explain cartoon about his Queensland tourism campaign with Bluey
Robert Irwin, son of legendary wildlife warrior Steve, has sent legal letters to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation urging it to remove a cartoon he claims is defamatory.
Daily Mail Australia highlighted the recent episode of the senator’s Please Explain YouTube series, titled ‘The State of Queensland’, after it was posted on Friday.
The sketch satirically features Irwin and ABC’s children’s cartoon character Bluey, after the pair were unveiled as the faces of the state’s 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.
One Nation chief of staff James Ashby told Daily Mail Australia they would oppose the contents of the letter and had brought in defamation expert Sue Chrysanthou SC.
Son of legendary wildlife warrior Steve Irwin, Robert Irwin (pictured) has sent legal letters to the production company behind Pauline Hanson’s ‘Please Explore’ cartoon for One Nation, urging it to remove a cartoon he claims is defamatory
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 ‘constitutes defamation’.
Adding the cartoon was an “unauthorized and misleading use of our client’s image.” Ms Naylor demanded that the studio remove the video from all platforms.
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”.
The firefighter senator’s YouTube series Please Explain included an episode on Friday titled The State of Queensland, satirically portraying Irwin and ABC children’s cartoon character Bluey (pictured)
Ms Hanson’s (pictured) party chief of staff James Ashby told Daily Mail Australia they would oppose the move and not remove 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.
