'Humiliated, Ashamed, Dirtied:' Cave Rescue Hero Testifies in Elon Musk Defamation Case
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Lucas Nolan
British cave diver and Thai rescue hero Vern Unsworth testified on Wednesday during a defamation trial against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, saying that after Musk branded him "Pedo Guy" on social media, he felt he "was given a life sentence without parole. It hurts to talk about it."
Reuters reports that the second day of the defamation trial involving Tesla CEO Elon Musk and British cave rescuer Vern Unsworth has come to a close, and some estimate that the case could go to jury decision as early as the end of the week.
Unsworth gave his testimony during the trial on Wednesday stating that he felt "branded a pedophile" by Musk's tweet in which he called the cave rescuer a "pedo guy." Musk has alleged that the term was not meant to be taken literally but as an insult, despite telling a Buzzfeed News reporter in an email that Unsworth was a "f*cking pedophile" in an email.
Unsworth reportedly stated during his testimony, with his voice cracking with emotion, that Musk's comments left him feeling "humiliated, ashamed, dirtied." Unsworth stated: "Effectively, from day one, I was given a life sentence without parole. It hurts to talk about it." Unsworth added: "I was obviously aware of the media coverage," but stated that he wasn't sure how many times it was repeated.
Unsworth stated that the media coverage was: "very hurtful. I find it disgusting. I find it hard to read the words, never mind talk about it." The trial is expected to wrap up on Thursday with a video testimony from Unsworth's wife with whom he is separated. Her testimony, along with that of an Internet expert, will discuss the effects of Musk's tweets.
During his own testimony, Elon Musk admitted that he was upset with Unsworth as he believed that he denigrated the efforts of Musk's team of engineers who attempted to aid in the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in July 2018. Musk said the did not appreciate Unsworth's "rude and contemptuous" tone during an interview about Musk's rescue attempts.
Musk also argued that he had apologized for his comments about Unsworth via Twitter, Unsworth's attorney L. Lin Wood stated that Unsworth did not have a Twitter account so how was he supposed to have seen Musk's apology. Musk stated: "Most things I say on Twitter get press. If I write something on Twitter, it will get reported." An odd defense given that Musk previously downplayed his power on Twitter stating "I'm not sure to the degree I'm actually influential."
The Verge noted that Unsworth seemed particularly upset by the whole process, writing:
One thing, however, seems true, though it is not testimony and I don't know if the jury will consider it: this entire process has been more grueling for Unsworth than Musk. Unsworth has been in the court for the entire trial, listening to testimony he clearly finds hard to bear; Musk showed up for his testimony and vanished.
Breitbart News will continue to cover the trial in detail.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
EconomyTechElon MuskMasters of the UniverseTeslaThai Cave RescueVern Unsworth
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