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Sandra Muller, the French journalist credited with starting the French version of the #MeToo feminist movement to expose sexual harassment, has been found guilty of defaming a television executive she accused of making lewd and sexist advances toward her.
A judge in Paris ordered Muller on Wednesday to pay 15,000 euros, or about $16,500, in damages to Eric Brion and delete tweets she posted about him in 2017. She was also ordered to publish the statements of the court on Twitter.
Brion, a media consultant and former executive at the public broadcaster France Télévision, had asked for 60,000 euros in the original suit.
"She surpassed the acceptable limits of freedom of expression, as her comments descended into a personal attack," the court said.
Muller, who is currently based in New York, plans to appeal the decision and called it a "backwards step."
Her series of allegations on Twitter regarding Brion in October 2017 are what started the viral hashtag #BalanceTonPorc, or #ExposeYourPig. She accused Brion of telling her at a function in Cannes, "You have big breasts. You are my type of woman. I will make you orgasm all night." She encouraged others to share their own experiences and call out their harassers by name.
The tweets brought an outpouring of responses and became known as an echo of the #MeToo movement in the United States that began with accusations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein.
In December of 2017, Brion responded with a piece in Le Monde, where he admitted to making advances on Muller that were "inappropriate." However, he said he made the comments "only once."
"Effectively, I did make misplaced comments to Sandra Muller during a drunken cocktail party very late one night, but only once," he said. "I liked her. I told her so, heavy-handedly. And only once, I must point out. I don't want to exonerate myself from my boorishness at the time. I reiterate my apologies."
Soon after the publication of the article, Brion filed a defamation suit against Muller. He claimed that the tweets were ambiguous and portrayed him as a sex offender.
When the court case opened in May this year, Brion's lawyers defended his "right to flirt," while Muller's lawyer Francis Spinzer questioned Brion's motives.
"This is someone who acknowledged initially unacceptable conduct, who said sorry, and then suddenly decided to go to court," Spinzer said.
After the verdict was announced, Brion's lawyer Nicolas Benoit told Agence France-Presse that Brion reacted with a "certain degree of relief and reaffirms he has never harassed Sandra Muller."
Spinzer, meanwhile, called the verdict a "regression."
