The judge ruled in Rooney’s favour, ending the dramatic case – dubbed the ‘Wagatha Christie’ – centered on the wives of the two footballers which has generated global headlines and tabloid stories of intrigue. The big claim was made by Vardy, who is married to Leicester City player Jamie Vardy, against Rooney, wife of former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney. Vardy had tried to clear her name after Rooney launched a “sting operation” three years ago to track down the source of the leaks from her private Instagram account. In October 2019 Rooney accused Vardy of leaking stories about her private life to The Sun newspaper. In her ruling, Ms Justice Steyn found that, on the balance of probability, Vardy leaked the story about Rooney to the press. The case lasted seven days, creating a media circus, with lawyers poring over pages of WhatsApp exchanges and debating the meaning of the emojis used in them. It has shed light on social media as the new frontier for defamation law where everyone is a publisher, according to legal experts. “Twitter disputes are increasingly becoming our litigation landscape,” said Matthew Dando, litigator and media law specialist at Wiggin. “The usual laws apply [online] from the point of view of slander’. “But you get charges that are much more hip. . . and things like emojis complicate meanings,” he added. WhatsApp messages exchanged between Rooney and Vardy featuring emojis were considered as evidence during the hearing, prompting the judge to consider the significance of the pictograms commonly used in the texts. Such considerations have become more relevant as celebrities increasingly use platforms like Instagram to set their own news agendas, bypassing traditional media outlets. In 2019, Rooney set an elaborate trap on Instagram by posting a series of fake stories then limiting the number of followers who could see them, waiting to see if the stories appeared in the press, until only Vardy was left as a suspect. Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Court of Justice in May © John Sibley/Reuters The case is estimated to have cost millions of pounds in legal fees and has highlighted the use of London courts and England’s libel laws by the rich and powerful to settle their personal battles. The judge said Vardy, along with her agent Caroline Watt, were involved in exposing false stories to the Sun, for example one about Rooney taking a trip to Mexico to undergo a gender selection procedure to have a baby girl. , and a piece about her flooded basement. Judge Stein said it was “likely” that Watt “undertook the direct act” of passing stories to the press, but that Vardy “knew and condoned” the behaviour. He added that it was possible that Watt “deliberately dropped her phone overboard” to avoid handing over messages the court requested. Defamation litigation brings high fees for London law firms. Legal bills for Rooney and Vardy are likely to exceed £1million. Vardy could now be forced to pay Rooney’s costs due to the “loser pays” rule in English civil litigation. The total will be determined at a later hearing. Rooney said in a statement that she was “delighted” that the decision went in her favor, but that she “never believed” the case should have gone to court “at so much expense at a time of difficulty for so many people, when money would could have been paid. much better spent helping others.”
