The Peninsula School principal Stuart Johnston launches defamation case against Twitter critic ‘Mr T’
A MYSTERY Twitter user who accused the principal of an elite Melbourne private school of nepotism and bullying has finally been unmasked.
AN elite Melbourne private school’s former marketing director and former parent has admitted to being behind a mystery Twitter account set up to savage the principal online.
Nicola Holland unmasked herself as the curious “Mr T”, accusing The Peninsula School principal Stuart Johnston of nepotism, bullying and financial mismanagement in a Supreme Court document.
Mr Johnston has launched defamation proceedings against Mrs Holland, accusing her of using the Twitter handle @TanPersonSays to discredit him on social media between January and June last year.
“The plaintiff was widely known in The Peninsula School community as a man of tanned complexion,” Mr Johnston says in his statement.
MORE: ‘Defamed’ principal heads to court to unmask Twitter user
He also complains of Mrs Holland using an image on the Twitter account “which bears an unflattering resemblance to the plaintiff”.
Mr Johnston claims Mrs Holland accused him of promoting his friends to the school board, misappropriating parent association funds, and presiding over a culture of bullying “for the purpose of advancing a malicious campaign to remove the plaintiff as principal of the Peninsula School.”
One of the tweets in question says, “claims that someone has had their hand in the till!”, referring to accusations of financial abuse.
He claims Mrs Holland initially denied any involvement with the controversial social media account when approached by his lawyers in August last year.
In her February defence Mrs Holland revealed herself as having written tweets using the moniker, but did not admit to publishing the offending tweets, and denied their alleged imputations.
She went on to clarify each imputation, declaring that if they were found to be defamatory, then they were true in substance and fact.
Mrs Holland claims in her defence that Mr Johnston recruited his golf teacher to the school board and employed his stepdaughter at the school.
The case is set to go to trial in the Supreme Court.
