Erin Molan settles out of court over false Anthony Bell affair allegations

Erin Molan has settled with Fairfax Media outside of court, eight months after taking action over mentions of her in an article about the marriage breakdown of skipper Anthony Bell and Kelly Landry.
 
The Footy Show star brought defamation proceedings against the publisher and journalist Andrew Horney after an article ran in January, titled ‘NRL footy show star’s rumoured affair with yachtsman Anthony Bell denied’.
 
Channel 9 today confirmed the case had been settled outside of court.
 
“Molan commenced legal proceedings after the newspaper refused to withdraw or apologise for the article, and the false and hurtful allegations about her it contained,” a spokeswoman said.
 
When asked by 9Honey about the article, Erin responded that she was “relieved” to be able to put the saga behind her, saying she had received an official apology.
 
“It hasn’t been a particularly pleasant few months, but I had no choice in taking them on given what I do for a living and the kind of values I have. What they published was hurtful and defamatory, and it wasn’t true.’
 
Molan added ‘’I received an apology from the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. In that, they apologise for the embarrassment and the hurt for the publication. They also admitted that any suggestion of an affair was false and that was the most important part for me to stand up for the truth.
 
“Having worked so hard for so long in a male dominated industry, my reputation is important to me. I’ve worked hard to preserve it. And one article like this has the ability to take all that away from me. That’s why the apology was so important. I have respect for Fairfax and their journalists, and I’m glad this matter is behind us.”
 
Molan, is engaged to long-term partner Sean Ogilvy.