Micallef to take podcaster Trudy Kerr to court over Ta’ Qali video

Jason Micallef has announced he will take podcaster Trudy Kerr to court over a video she posted drawing attention to Ta’ Qali Park’s gravelling.

“I will be pursuing legal action against those who created the FAKE NEWS and malicious lie about the picnic area in Ta’ Qali,” the firebrand Valletta Cultural Agency Chairman said on Facebook.

The move comes, he said, following government’s failure to “stand up to bullies.”

“I’m giving a warning because enough is enough. Since this government is too afraid to confront the social media bullies, I’m not,” he said. “The bullying by some on social media—where if you don’t play their game, they can’t make money—its time is up, and I will fight it with all my strength.”

Calling Kerr, the producer of highly followed women’s right’s issues podcast The She Word, a “failed and phoney podcaster”, Micallef said she has had her time.

“See you in court, Ms Kerr,” he said.

Trudy Kerr had posted a video highlighting the transformation of the area after actor Thomas Camilleri drew attention to the changes, showing how the green space many cherish has been altered.

Earlier on Wednesday Jason Micallef, who heads the Ta’ Qali National Park management, has branded concerns over the gravel installed at the Ta’ Qali picnic area as “fake news”.

Micallef’s comment comes amid plans for a protest and petition organised by a group of young activists who have taken issue with the gravel installation. 

The group argues that the gravel has turned the park into an unwelcoming and unsafe space that traps heat, harms biodiversity, and deprives families, children and pet owners of one of Malta’s last green gathering places.

In response, Micallef stated that the “fake news” was spread by those who profit from it, or others who “cannot stand to see the success story we accomplished” in Ta’ Qali.