friendlyjordies

Jordan Shanks-Markovina (born 18 August 1989), also known online as friendlyjordies, is an Australian political commentator, journalist, stand-up comedian and YouTuber. His content often discusses contemporary Australian cultural and political issues, involving self-described "lowbrow humour." Shanks' YouTube channel, created in February 2013, has over a million subscribers as of June 2023.[1] He has interviewed several politicians, including Jodi McKay, Tanya Plibersek, Kristina Keneally, Bill Shorten, Helen Dalton, and former prime minister Kevin Rudd.[2]

Jordan Shanks
Shanks in 2017
Personal information
Born
Jordan Shanks-Markovina

(1989-08-18) 18 August 1989
New South Wales, Australia
Education
Occupations
  • Independent journalist
  • YouTuber
  • stand-up comedian
Websitefriendlyjordies.com
YouTube information
Also known asfriendlyjordies
Channel
Years active2013–present
Genres
Subscribers1.07 million[1]
Total views215 million[1]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: 6 June 2023

Shanks has been involved in numerous legal disputes and controversies. Notably, Shanks was sued for defamation by former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro after Shanks made numerous YouTube videos criticising him. Additionally, multiple assassination attempts have been made against Shanks.[3]

Early life

Shanks was born on 18 August 1989.[4] He graduated from Newtown High School of the Performing Arts,[5] and later obtained a Bachelor of International Studies specialising in Globalisation Studies at the University of New South Wales.[6] Prior to becoming a YouTuber, Shanks was a model, appearing in magazines and advertisements throughout Australia and Southeast Asia.[7]

YouTube career

Shanks' channel is primarily focused on comedy videos and political commentary, often in support of the Labor Party and critical of the Liberal and National parties.[8] Early in his YouTube career, Shanks made paid videos for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, GetUp!, and Greenpeace, after approaching them and offering to promote their cause.[9][8] In 2016, he campaigned against the Sydney lockout laws.[9] Shanks has interviewed and filmed videos with former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.[10] In 2020, The Daily Telegraph journalist Joe Hildebrand made a complaint to New South Wales police accusing Shanks of stalking and harassment. The police laid no charges.[11] In July 2021, Shanks released an hour-long self-produced documentary entitled 'Blood water: the war for Australia's water', discussing floodplain harvesting in rural New South Wales and addressing allegations of corruption and mismanagement from local governments in the Riverina.[12] He exclusively interviewed Twitter commentator PRGuy who revealed himself to be Jeremy Maluta, circumventing an attempt by right-wing figure Avi Yemini to identify the owner of the account through legal action.[13]

In May 2022, Shanks made a cameo appearance as a news reporter in an episode of Housos.[14] He also voiced several minor characters in the animated television series Koala Man in January 2023.[15]

2019–20 bushfires

In 2019 and 2020, Shanks released multiple videos alleging that the then New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian was one of the main people responsible for increasing the risk of bushfires and the destruction of the koala population in Australia. He created the Twitter hashtag #koalakiller, in reference to Berejiklian.[16] On 10 June 2020, Shanks released an interview with New South Wales Opposition Leader Jodi McKay, discussing topics including the state and federal governments' response to the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, including widespread deaths of animals.[17] Shanks raised $300,000 for bushfire relief from his stand-up shows and sales of #koalakiller t-shirts.[18]

Clive Palmer

In 2019, Shanks published a video covering businessman Clive Palmer who was running in the 2019 Australian federal election. There were existing allegations of financial irregularity in the liquidation of Palmer's company Queensland Nickel[19] and alleged failure to pay the company's workers,[20][21] which Shanks covered, alongside satirising Palmer's behaviour and appearance. In response, Palmer threatened a defamation lawsuit, demanding A$500,000 and that Shanks cease making public statements about him.[22] Shanks said he would not "capitulate" and released merchandise containing the statements in question.[22] Commentators noted that Palmer appeared to have created a Streisand effect.[21][23] Other commentators said that Palmer's legal threat was substantially similar to a SLAPP suit and that such threats had a 'chilling effect' on public interest reporting.[24]

John Barilaro
Further information: Barilaro v Shanks-Markovina

In a political commentary video uploaded 29 June 2020, Shanks included an impersonation of John Barilaro, Deputy Premier of New South Wales, which Barilaro described as "very offensive" and "full of racist undertones".[25] Shanks subsequently filmed a video inside an rental property owned by Barilaro, accusing him of corruption and environmental vandalism.[26][2] In May 2021 Shanks published a letter sent by Barilaro in December of a threat to sue for defamation. In response, Shanks turned up dressed as the video game character Luigi at a National Party event where Barilaro was giving a speech.[27][28] Barilaro lodged defamation proceedings against Shanks on 27 May 2021.[29] On 8 July Shanks' legal team responded by filing a truth defence, supported by an honest opinion defence for a subset of claims.[30][31]

In June 2021, friendlyjordies producer Kristo Langker was arrested by officers from the Fixated Persons Unit (FPU), a specialised counterterrorism police unit who often targets lone wolf terrorists, established in response to the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege.[32] Langker was charged with two counts of stalking and intimidating Barilaro after Langker had approached Barilaro at a National Party event with Shanks and on another occasion, where Langker had approached Barilaro while Langker was heading to Macquarie University.[33][34][11] Langker's lawyer Mark Davis contested the police's accounts, and he denounced the timing of the arrest being soon after the defamation lawsuit commenced and criticised the use of the FPU.[34] In August 2021 it was revealed that Barilaro had been in contact with the FPU regarding Shanks for at least six months prior to Langker's arrest.[35] This contradicted what Barilaro had earlier told Sky News Australia host Tom Connell, saying that he had not requested the FPU become involved in the matter.[36][37] In October 2021 John Barilaro resigned as Deputy Premier of New South Wales and as the member for Monaro, citing his defamation case against Shanks as a "big reason" for the decision.[38][39]

In November 2021, Barilaro settled the defamation case with Shanks, and Shanks issued the following apology: "Mr Shanks accepts that some of the videos he posted were offensive to Mr Barilaro. Mr Shanks understands that Mr Barilaro has been hurt, and apologises to him for that hurt." Shanks was required to pay $100,000 in legal costs and Barilaro received no damages from the settlement. Shanks agreed to edit some of the contested videos, which would remain online, and to stop selling merchandise featuring Barilaro after Barilaro's retirement from politics.[40][41]

As of 10 March 2022, the NSW Police dropped all charges against Langker who is considering taking civil action against the police.[42] Conduct of the NSW Fixated Persons Unit has been brought into question with Attorney General Mark Speakman being questioned over the case in budget estimates. Speakman refused to further comment, conceding that the matter may appear before Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.[43]

On 6 June 2022, the Federal Court judge awarded Barilaro $715,000 in defamation damages from Google for the YouTube videos, and referred Shanks and Google for possible prosecution for contempt of court.[44]

ClubsNSW

In 2020, Troy Stolz was a compliance officer employed by gambling lobby group Clubs NSW. Stolz contacted journalists and federal MP Andrew Wilkie, alleging that clubs in NSW were engaged in widespread non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws. Following this, ClubsNSW terminated Stolz' employment. Stolz sued for unfair dismissal and ClubsNSW counter-sued for unlawful use of confidential information. Stolz has been described as a whistleblower, and suffers from terminal bone cancer.[45][46][47]

In 2021, Shanks uploaded multiple videos to the friendlyjordies channel where he criticised ClubsNSW, including a video interview with Troy Stolz titled "The legal way to take a life", in which Stolz detailed his battle with cancer and the impact of his federal court dispute with his former employer ClubsNSW.[46][47]

ClubsNSW began a highly unusual private prosecution against both Shanks and Stolz, alleging that the video interview constituted contempt of court on both their parts, making Shanks and Stolz face criminal conviction and potential prison sentences.[47] In July 2022 ClubsNSW sought and obtained an interim suppression order, something normally only seen in high-level criminal cases. Following this, the video interview was taken down.[46] The interim order was to last until the application for a more permanent suppression could be heard in full and decided upon and was dropped in September.[47]

In October 2022, the NSW Crime Commission released a report stating that criminals were in fact laundering billions of dollars using poker machines in NSW clubs and pubs.[48]

In February 2023, ClubsNSW discontinued all legal action against Shanks and Stolz.[47] The withdrawal of the court cases came after the chief executive of ClubsNSW, Josh Landis, was sacked.[47]

Firebombing incidents

Police launched investigations into two attempts to burn down Shanks' house in Bondi Beach, one attempt on 17 November 2022 which mistakenly targeted his next door neighbour, and another on 23 November 2022, which successfully burned down his home.[49] In a statement, Shanks' lawyers stated that his home had been "firebombed", and that he was not home at the time of the attacks.[50]

References
  1. "About friendlyjordies". YouTube.
  2. Hunter, Fergus; Cormack, Lucy (19 September 2020). "How to solve a problem like friendlyjordies? Politicians debate new-age commentator". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  3. "Friendlyjordies' Bondi home 'firebombed', lawyers for YouTuber claim | Sydney | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  4. Shanks, Jordan (3 April 2012). "Undercover investigation dressed as woman in girls room". YouTube. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  5. Mckenzie, Nic (8 October 2020). "friendlyjordies: boogeyman of the mainstream media". Happy Mag. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. University of New South Wales has an online award verification service. To confirm Jordan's degree and conferral date, enter his first and last names and click on the search button.
  7. McGowan, Michael (28 May 2021). "YouTube comedian Friendlyjordies sued for defamation by NSW deputy premier John Barilaro". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. Johnson, Kurt (28 June 2019). "Friendlyjordies, the comedian who wants to 'inoculate' Australia's youth". Crikey. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  9. Stefano, Mark Di (6 April 2016). "This Viral YouTube Star Has Been Employed For Political Advertising". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  10. Koziol, Michael (31 October 2020). "Rudd backs FriendlyJordies as serious 'broadcaster' despite controversial acts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  11. Morton, Rick (19 June 2021). "The police, the YouTube star and the Labor Party". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  12. Hill, Daneka (15 July 2021). "Opinions divided over new floodplain harvesting documentary". Country News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  13. "User behind pro-Labor Twitter account PRGuy publicly reveals identity". 24 June 2022.
  14. "Airdate: Housos: The Thong Warrior". TVtonight. 21 May 2022.
  15. "Koala Man (TV Series 2023– )", IMDb, retrieved 8 February 2023
  16. Yun, Jessica (27 November 2019). "Rich-lister CEO won't stop asking the NSW Premier this one question". au.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. "'What were you thinking?': Ben Fordham calls out 'appalling' swipe at Gladys Berejiklian". 2GB. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  18. "YouTube Star Jordan Shanks Claims Nine Blocked Him From Monetising MAFS Reviews". 2DayFM. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  19. Branco, Jorge (23 January 2018). "Clive Palmer's meetings with himself to approve millions in Queensland Nickel payments". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  20. Stevenson, Ashleigh (25 May 2018). "Clive Palmer's assets frozen by Supreme Court over Queensland Nickel collapse". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  21. "Clive Palmer: Australia ex-MP threatens YouTuber over 'dense Humpty' video". BBC News. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  22. Gilbert, Ben. "An Australian billionaire and politician is demanding $500,000 from a YouTube creator and threatening to sue for calling him a 'dense Humpty Dumpty'". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  23. West, Michael (4 October 2019). "The Streisand Effect – Clive Palmer forgot about that". Michael West. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  24. Amber, Schultz (2 October 2019). "Clive Palmer's latest defamation threat is the new norm for online content". Crikey. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  25. "YouTuber Friendlyjordies lashed for 'racist' depiction of Gladys Berejiklian". NewsComAu. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  26. "YouTuber Friendlyjordies brags of sex acts in NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro's holiday house". news.com.au. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  27. "John Barilaro threatens legal action against YouTuber". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  28. "Deputy Premier threatens to sue comedian". www.theaustralian.com.au. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  29. Mitchell, Georgina (28 May 2021). "John Barilaro sues YouTube comedian Friendlyjordies for defamation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  30. McGowan, Michael; Knaus, Christopher (8 July 2021). "Friendlyjordies files truth defence in defamation case against John Barilaro". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  31. "John Barilaro sues YouTube comedian Friendlyjordies for defamation". 28 May 2021.
  32. "Police overreach or political influence? Either way, the 'Fixated Persons' unit got it wrong arresting Friendlyjordies' producer". Crikey. 17 June 2021.
  33. Mitchell, Georgina (10 March 2022). "Police drop charges against Friendlyjordies producer Kristo Langker". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  34. Knaus, Christopher (13 June 2021). "Friendlyjordies producer charged with stalking John Barilaro". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  35. Mitchell, Georgina (26 August 2021). "John Barilaro reported Friendlyjordies to police six months before producer's arrest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  36. Mitchell, Georgina (26 August 2021). "John Barilaro reported Friendlyjordies to police six months before producer's arrest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  37. "John Barilaro Ripped Into A Journo For Asking About The Arrest Of Friendlyjordies' Producer". Pedestrian TV. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  38. "NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro resigns as Coalition crisis deepens". ABC News. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  39. "NSW deputy premier John Barilaro resigns from politics days after Berejiklian quits". The Guardian. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  40. Mitchell, Georgina (4 November 2021). "Friendlyjordies defamation case settles out of court: Jordan Shanks apologises to John Barilaro". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  41. "John Barilaro settles defamation suit with FriendlyJordies". ABC News. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  42. Mitchell, Georgina (10 March 2022). "Police drop charges against Friendlyjordies producer Kristo Langker". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  43. Loomes, Phoebe (16 March 2022). "Probe likely over friendlyjordies arrest". 7NEWS. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  44. "John Barilaro awarded $715,000 defamation payout as Google, Friendlyjordies referred for contempt". SBS. 6 June 2022.
  45. "Hell hath no fury like a terminally ill pokies whistleblower". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  46. "Friendlyjordies' Jordan Shanks and ClubsNSW whistleblower face criminal contempt proceedings". The Guardian. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  47. Knaus, Christopher (16 February 2023). "ClubsNSW drops contempt charges against Friendlyjordies over pokies whistleblower". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  48. "NSW Crime Commission Outlines Recommendations to Crack Down on Significant Criminal Gaming Activity in Pubs and Clubs" (PDF). NSW Crime Commission. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  49. Parkes-Hupton, Heath (23 November 2022). "Police investigating 'suspicious' blaze at Bondi home of comedian friendlyjordies". ABC."
  50. McGowan, Michael (23 November 2022). "Friendlyjordies' Bondi home 'firebombed', lawyers for YouTuber claim". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
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