Young presenter’s topless photo sparks uproar at 7News. Plus, who’s on Indy Clinton’s 64-page troll list… and Erin Molan addresses snarky rumour from a warzone: INSIDE MAIL

Tattle tales

Australian influencers are declaring a ‘reckoning’ is coming after the owner of a so-called ‘hate’ website was unmasked by a Northern Irish court last week.

Yes, influencers, the world’s most misunderstood victims, say D-Day is coming for anonymous internet meanies.

Boo hoo.

It began when a County Antrim couple sued gossip forum Tattle Life for defamation and won, resulting in the outing of the site’s founder: a vegan blogger named Sebastian Bond. Now, legal eagles are bracing for a tidal wave of lawsuits. 

Has Bond actually done anything wrong by letting users slag off influencers? Some of the content is sewer-grade, sure – but if that makes him a defamer, then so is Mark Zuckerberg.

Worth noting: 90 per cent of Tattle Life is screenshots of influencers’ own posts with bitchy commentary. The so-called doxxing? Mostly just public business information and property records.

But who needs nuance when the High Court of Influencer Feelings has spoken?

TikTok star Indy Clinton recently announced she had obtained a 64-page document unmasking her ‘anonymous’ trolls after hiring a private investigator

Tattle Life, which attracts 12 million visitors a month, has been described as a ‘hate site’. But most of its posts are just screenshots of what influencers upload themselves, along with snark

Vegan influencer Sebastian Bond, 41,  has been identified as the man behind Tattle life and could face a slew of defamation cases

Bec Judd, Steph Claire Smith and the brave girlbosses at Mamamia emerged after the ruling to declare ‘the tide is turning’ and the Big Bullies™ are finally defeated.

If this war on Tattle reaches Australia – and it might, with TikToker Indy Clinton declaring she has a 64-page document unmasking her ‘anonymous’ trolls after hiring a PI – expect to see ultra-rich glamazons unleashing pitbull lawyers on single mums, Centrelink cases and the barely coherent.

Brave indeed.

TV anchor’s artsy nudes

Inside Mail was innocently scrolling Instagram on Tuesday morning when – sacré bleu! – we found something no self-respecting newsman expects to see in his feed.

A topless woman.

No, it wasn’t a thirst trap from a terrified, privacy-obsessed influencer. Rather, it was 7News presenter Lucy McLeod.

It’s rare to see members of the Fourth Estate voluntarily de-robe on social media, so it wasn’t long before phones started buzzing across Seven’s South Eveleigh HQ.

There have been disapproving whispers around 7News HQ after entertainment presenter Lucy McLeod posted an artsy topless photo on Instagram earlier this week

A view of McLeod’s Instagram. We have muzzed the topless photo on the left not because it is explicit – a newspaper covers her chest – but because it is a professional copyrighted image

As one 7News insider put it to us bluntly: ‘It doesn’t exactly scream “take me seriously”, does it? Inappropriate.’

McLeod is a well-known figure in the newsroom, even though her job of reading the entertainment bulletin for a few minutes on the midday news isn’t exactly high-profile.

A hire during the brief reign of flop news director Anthony De Ceglie, she joined Seven via the news streaming service Flash and, before that, Nine News Perth.

While senior executives were said to be in a flap over the picture, midday news producer Daniel Healion didn’t seem to have much of a problem – given he ‘liked’ it.

Seven’s PR department was contacted for comment.

Ben huh?

WA politician Ben Dawkins changed his name to Aussie Trump for the state election. He lost but is sticking with the rebrand apparently

Here is a story Inside Mail completely missed when it unfolded earlier this year.

Now-former WA parliamentarian Ben Dawkins legally changed his name ahead of the WA state election earlier this year. He did so in late January, announcing his new moniker, Austin ‘Aussie’ Trump, on February 5, just one month before the state election.

(Apparently it’s legally complicated changing your name to ‘Aussie’ in Australia, so he settled for Austin.) 

Dawkins said at the time it was a political protest against Labor, if you can work that out. He also expressed his admiration for Donald Trump, which probably didn’t need to be announced.

Mr Trump’s Wikipedia page is one of the sadder entries Inside Mail has stumbled across

Presumably the real reason for the gimmick change was a hope that doing so might help get Aussie Trump re-elected – which it did not, by the way. He, lost thankfully, although we would have enjoyed the media releases had he won.

So, fast forward to today and the question now is: has Aussie Trump stuck with the name change or reverted to his more boring birth name of Dawkins?

Judging by his continuing presence online, he is still Aussie Trump, perhaps in the vain hope that he will one day return to the political fold to help make WA great again. 

Sad! 

Erin Molan vs. fashion police

There’s been a lot of whispering over at Sky News and Channel Nine regarding the welfare of former comrade Erin Molan. 

For those not glued to X, Molan touched down in Israel just in time for Iran’s retaliatory missile barrage, launched in response to Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities.

She wasn’t there as a war correspondent. Instead, she was to receive an honourary doctorate from Reichman University in Herzliya, followed by a gala dinner.

But her plans changed when the bombs fell and Molan began filing dispatches from the rubble, including shocking vision of destroyed apartments.

It’s all serious stuff as the world wobbles on the brink of WWIII, but the one thing we keep hearing from media gossips is… what’s with her fancy wardrobe?

Erin Molan’s FIFO trip to Israel to receive an honourary doctorate was derailed by Iran’s missile barrage. Several media snipes tipped us off to her glam outfits but she had a fair explanation

‘Nothing I brought is designer – in fact, the complete opposite,’ Molan told Inside Mail

Unkind observers noted her glam outfits weren’t exactly typical of a journalist on the frontline – but she was quick to hit back at the haters.

She told Inside Mail she’d packed just a few casual outfits suitable for Israel’s 35°C weather and was only supposed to be in the Jewish state for two nights.

‘Nothing I brought is designer – in fact, the complete opposite,’ she added.

She also stressed her sunglasses were not designer, after several media snipes suggested to us they were Gucci. (We lack the fashion know-how to tell either way.)

One thing’s for sure: Molan and other Aussies stuck in Israel, including retired senator Nova Peris, are in a dangerous situation and we wish them a safe journey home.

Sharri says

Speaking of Israel, one of the Jewish state’s most vocal supporters, Sharri Markson, made the unusual move last week to, er, ‘sanction’ the Albanese government.

The government, alongside four other nations, had imposed sanctions on two Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, ‘for their role in serious human rights violations and abuses’ in the West Bank.

The sanctions freeze any Australian assets they may have and prevent their travel to Australia – not that they planned to come here anyway.

In response to the move, the Sky News Australia host thundered: ‘I’m going to start tonight by issuing my own symbolic sanctions against the two most damaging figures in the Albanese government, the prime minister and the foreign minister.

Speaking of Israel, one of the Jewish state’s most vocal supporters, Sharri Markson, made the unusual move last week to, er, ‘sanction’ the Albanese government

‘I sanction Wong and Albanese for their antagonistic and extreme rhetoric which, over the past 20 months has only inflamed anti-Israel sentiment and contributed to the dangerous rise in antisemitism in our country.’

She later clarified, ‘Of course, my sanctions will make no difference.’

Which is a fair point, prompting one social media critic to note: ‘Sharri’s “sanctions” will no doubt be as successful as her “endorsement” of Dutton as PM.’

Lattouf’s idle hands

Sometimes it seems like you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t…

Inside Mail approached journalist-turned-influencer Antoinette Lattouf for comment last week over her possible appearance at a Sydney Uni conference in August.

The speaking event made headlines after news.com.au’s political editor Samantha Maiden was disinvited for ‘unspecified thought crimes involving Palestine’.

The ABC’s David Marr pulled out in solidarity with Sam. Three-time Walkley nominee Richard Glover also withdrew, telling us the event ‘no longer aligns with my values’.

But, for Lattouf, only one value seems to matter anymore: social media clout.

‘Unemployable’ journalist Antoinette Lattouf photoshopped her email reply to Inside Mail and posted it on Instagram to add a little kick to her hilarious zinger. Too much time of your hands?

Inside Mail emailed Lattouf to ask her if Maiden’s treatment was something she might discuss with conference organisers, ‘given most fair-minded observers would agree that hearing from only those who share your opinion is a recipe for echo chambers and potentially dangerous groupthink’.

Within an hour, Lattouf had responded to say it was yet another media engagement she had been dropped from since getting canned from the ABC in December 2023 over social media posts accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

‘Off the record: I actually spoke last year and am not involved/invited this year,’ she told us, adding: ‘Also lol: most fair-minded observers coming from the Daily Mail.’

Now, we’d never ever break a source’s confidence by sharing something they’d said ‘off the record’. But that no longer applies when the source in question shares screenshots of your email exchange with her 100,000 Instagram followers.

So proud was Lattouf of her zinger that she’d taken the time to photoshop it by capping up the ‘lol’, adding a colon and quotation marks – none of which appeared in her original email.

But, then again, time is something she has in abundance.

The former reporter told the Federal Court this year she was ‘pretty much unemployable’ since her sacking from the ABC.

The judgment in her unfair dismissal case against Aunty is due next Wednesday. Inside Mail hopes it’s favourable for her, if only so she has something else to do with her time besides photoshopping emails for her followers.

Discretion is advised

Inside Mail readers will recall the ‘dirty dossier’ that fluttered our way from deep inside the crumbling ruins of Are Media HQ.

Are Media CEO Jane Huxley (pictured) is looking for a temporary replacement for her loyal ‘Flying Monkey’ who is going on maternity leave 

Among the secrets of magland was a delicious morsel about one of CEO Jane Huxley‘s faithful lieutenants who is nicknamed ‘the Flying Monkey‘ because of her penchant for reporting everything back to the boss.

Well, it turns out the Flying Monkey has flown the coop to take maternity leave and Huxley is hiring a replacement on a 12-month contract.

A recent job ad on LinkedIn caught our eye – not for the title, but for the fine print: candidates must possess ‘a high degree of discretion’. 

We wonder if that’s to stem the weekly tide of leaks landing in our inbox from 54 Park Street?

Several innocent staffers – past and present – have already had the finger of suspicion pointed at them. None of them guilty. 

Remember, ladies, it’s always who you least expect.

Lights out

Speaking of Are Media, we heard there was a power cut at Park St on Tuesday – the day several titles are put to bed and sent off to the printers.

Fortunately it was brief interruption and power was restored.

The last thing magland needs is another printing disaster after thousands of copies of New Idea bound for Victoria had to be pulped due to breaching a suppression order.

Climb every mountain

Lisa Wilkinson (right, with Brittany Higgins) compared her media career to the Everest-conquering exploits of Sir Edmund Hillary

Lisa Wilkinson may be persona non grata in TV land, but she’s still finding ways to bask in the spotlight – this time on a $25-a-head speaking tour where she compares her media career to Sir Edmund Hillary conquering Everest.

Yes, really.

In Taree last month, Lisa spun the tale of how, during a 1997 trip with her bandanna-wearing ‘bloke history’ author husband Peter FitzSimons, she got to meet the mountaineer himself.

His advice about facing the impossible? Just put one foot in front of the other.

An insight so profound, Lisa has now applied it to her own journey – from Dolly to The Project – and her self-styled martyrdom after the Brittany Higgins debacle.

She continued, without a hint of irony: ‘[Hillary] said that when we finally achieve whatever our personal summit might be, the truly important thing is that we stop, we breathe and we make sure that we enjoy that view.

‘That is what has got me through the last three years.’ 

Inspiring stuff.

Chewing the fat

Albo is happy to take a compliment even when it’s a bit of a backhander.

At the G7 summit this week South Korean President Lee Jae-myung remarked that our PM looked ‘much younger’ and more ‘good-looking’ than he had expected.

The light-hearted comment set a friendly tone for their first in-person meeting, in sharp contrast to Albo’s inability to get a one-on-one with Donald Trump.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung was wowed by Anthony Albanese’s slimmed-down frame, presumably after he’d been handed a briefing pack with out-of-date photos of our PM

Perhaps the South Korean leader had only seen older pics of our PM in briefing packs prepared for him before the summit. Albo famously lost a heap of weight some years back while still in opposition, as part of his effort to get in shape.

The keto diet helped him trim down – a lifestyle change he has maintained despite all the wining and dining that comes with being Australia’s Prime Minister.

It also means Albo won’t need to crash diet to squeeze into his best suit for his wedding to fiancée Jodie Haydon, expected later this year.

Thorpedo strike 

King Charles might want to invest in a pair of earplugs because we hear Lidia Thorpe is on a sojourn to the UK this week.

The independent senator made global headlines last year when she heckled the King and Queen during their state visit Down Under.

‘Give us what you stole from us! Our bones, our skulls our babies, our people!’ she screamed at the bemused monarchs.

‘You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty! We want a treaty in this country! You are a genocidialist [sic]!’

Thorpe’s hatred for the King hasn’t mellowed.

Firebrand independent senator Lidia Thorpe launched a foul-mouthed tirade at the King during his visit to Parliament House last October. We hear she is now in the UK…

Last week, on the King’s Birthday long weekend, she posted this cheerful message: ‘I would normally give presents to someone on their birthday but I think you owe us enough.

‘It’s time for you to start giving land back and everything else you stole from us.’

Inside Mail asked Thorpe’s office about her plans in Blighty but did not hear back. Here’s hoping she avoids a run-in with the Old Bill.

Liberals’ arse-covering election post-mortem 

The NSW Liberal Party’s federal intervention has been extended, with former Premier Nick Greiner now chairing a new committee. Victorian stalwarts Alan Stockdale and Richard Alston were ousted, making way for a more NSW-centric leadership.

Notably, former PM Tony Abbott was snubbed.

This move is seen as a win for new Liberal leader Sussan Ley, who is aiming to reform the party after recent electoral setbacks.

A Liberal Party post-mortem into precisely why Peter Dutton failed so badly looks set to be an arse-covering exercise

It comes at the same time the Liberals set up their post-election review, to be conducted by former NSW state minister Pru Goward and erstwhile Howard minister and conservative factional heavy Nick Minchin.

While Goward and Minchin hail from opposite sides of the Liberal Party’s factional divide, don’t expect such diversity to result in a frank and fearless review of what went so badly wrong on May 3.

More likely, the appointment of this duo is designed to ensure neither faction cops the lion’s share of the blame for the poor result. If the Liberals were really serious about getting to the bottom of how Peter Dutton and co. delivered the worst election wipeout in federal political history, they would have appointed truly independent experts to pick over the carcass of what’s left of the party.

But doing that would require a degree of honest self-reflection… not something the modern Liberal Party is especially good at doing!

Ketut’s anniversary payday

Kadek Mahardika of ‘Rhonda and Ketut’ fame is flogging a ‘Bali Belly Bundle’ to the 1.5 million Aussies who descend on Denpasar each year

We love a celebrity endorsement here at Inside Mail – and this is one for the ages. 

After shooting to stardom as part of AAMI Insurance’s Rhonda and Ketut safe driver adverts, Kadek Mahardika is back – this time spruiking… probiotics?

The former holiday heart-throb just marked 10 years of wedded bliss with a lavish New Idea spread (presumably bankrolled by the mag), and now he’s flogging a ‘Bali Belly Bundle’ to the 1.5 million Aussies who descend on Denpasar each year.

Forty-five bucks gets you a Tumme probiotic and two packs of diarrhoea meds – a fair deal, perhaps, considering up to half of them end up glued to the loo.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk