Olivia Simmons mounts defence against half-brother Sean Tribe in defamation battle

Ben Simmons’ sister has armed herself with a lawyer to fight defamation claims over her sexual molestation allegations against half-brother Sean Tribe.

Ben Simmons, Sean Tribe and Olivia Simmons. Picture: Twitter

The sister of basketball superstar Ben Simmons has armed herself with a lawyer as she fights defamation action brought by her half-brother after she accused him of sexual molestation.

Olivia Simmons has won further time to lodge documents in the Federal Court and mount her defence to the defamation claim brought by half-sibling Sean Tribe.

Mr Tribe, who is the manager of NBA star Ben, is suing Ms Simmons over a series of tweets she posted in April, where she made serious criminal allegations of sexual assault from when she was three-years-old.

In a short Federal Court hearing, barrister Sheila Kaur-Bains said she’d just taken on the case for Ms Simmons.

“Does it remain her intention to defend the proceedings?” asked Justice Joshua Lee.

“It does, Your Honour,” Ms Kaur-Bains replied, adding she was seeking an extension of time to file a defence, to July 30.

In an earlier hearing, Ms Simmons told the court she was making a police report about the allegations.

“I just want it to be known to the court that I would never make such allegations that were false,” she said earlier.

In his statement of claim, Mr Tribe claims he “has been gravely injured in his character and reputation, and has suffered substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment and has and will continue to suffer loss and damage”.

In the documents, Mr Tribe claims he and Olivia had a “normal close sibling relationship for almost 30 years” until March 2021 when she raised allegations to another family member that “she now claims she first recalled in about 2016 during suppressed memories therapy”.

Mr Tribe is claiming for damages, including aggravated damages, and orders preventing Ms Simmons from publishing any defamatory content.

In her tweets, since deleted, Ms Simmons alleged she’d been molested by her half-brother since the age of three and had suffered PTSD.

“I’ve been asking for therapy but my family would rather sweep it under the rug because it could damage my brothers brand,” she claimed online.

The matter has been set for a five-day hearing in September.

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