Glamorous accountant and aspiring politician Jane Agirtan sues Clementine Ford for $700,000 after the feminist writer branded her a racist and a bigot

EXCLUSIVE 

A glamorous accountant is suing Clementine Ford for defamation after the feminist writer publicly branded her a racist and a bigot.

Mother-of-one Jane Agirtan, who stood as an independent candidate in Victoria's Mornington District at the 2022 state election, has launched a $700,000 defamation suit against Ford after she made a series of abusive comments on social media between August and November last year.

Ms Agirtan, a proud Muslim originally from Russia, claimed she had never interacted with Ford before posting an Instagram story in which she mocked Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney for allegedly owning a Gucci handbag.

Ms Burney's office later denied she owned anything from the luxury brand. 

Ford re-shared Ms Agirtan's post and accused her of being racist. 

When Ms Argitan wrote to Ford to ask her to retract her 'defamatory' statement, Ford goaded her. 

'Sue me for defamation then, I'll add transphobic bigot to the mix too,' wrote Ford.  

The tax specialist maintains that Ford's accusations were unprovoked.  

'I’d never interacted with Ford and was genuinely unaware of her existence, let alone her pantomime of feminism,' Ms Agirtan told Daily Mail Australia. 

The two women then traded multiple insults on social media, with Ford telling her nearly 250,000 Instagram followers that Ms Agirtan was a 'lunatic', a 'bigot' and a 'racist, transphobic cooker angling to be a politician'.

Ms Agirtan, who is neurodivergent, told Ford she was an 'oppressed Muslim minority' being mocked by a 'white feminist writer'.

‘You're not a f***ing migrant,' Ford responded. 

'You're a white Russian woman who posts endless hateful sh*t about Aboriginal people, trans people, queer people and Dan Andrews.

'Honestly, I'd love for you to try to file a defamation suit,’ she added, followed by four crying-with-laughter emojis. 

Ms Agirtan was also sent abuse by some of Ford's fans who labelled her a 'hag' and an 'old sagging c***', while suggesting she jump off a cliff.

Ms Agirtan complained to Meta, Instagram's parent company, the police and the e-Safety Commissioner, all of whom she claims did nothing.

Ford even mocked Ms Agirtan's attempts to stop the abuse.

'Oh, no the e-Safety Commissioner!!!', she wrote. 

'It’s hilarious you think the tactics you use to stop other people from criticising you online are going to work with me,' Ford added. 

The outspoken feminist also shared a 2020 news article in which Ms Agirtan apologised 'unreservedly' for having shared allegedly racist memes mocking indigenous Australians. 

In one meme, which was posted years before she launched her political career, Ms Agirtan allegedly shared a picture of an Indigenous elder with the caption: 'Spends all his money on petrol, doesn't own a car'.

Another included a picture of Jesus with the caption: 'Jesus says Aboriginal memes are inappropriate.' 

At the time, she told the Herald Sun she had been going through a 'difficult personal situation'.

'I deeply apologise to anyone who may have been offended,' she said. 

However, when asked about the posts by Daily Mail Australia this week, Ms Agirtan said she could not remember posting the memes and queried whether there was any proof she had shard them.

She also said they were written in broken English, which was not how she writes.  

'I am definitely not racist,' she said.  

'I strongly doubt screenshots are genuine and have no recollection posting memes specifically including Jesus - as I am Muslim,' she said.

She branded the 2020 story a 'politically motivated, failed attempt to discredit me'.

Ms Agirtan came second with 28 per cent of the vote at the Kingston council election in November that year. 

Ford also accused Ms Agirtan being behind a campaign to block her from sending messages on Instagram. 

Meanwhile, Ms Agirtan shared a picture of Ford's father Steven who previously ran for Pauline Hanson's One Nation, claiming it explained Ford's 'raging Islamophobia'.

Ford has repeatedly goaded Ms Agirtan to sue her.

'Honestly, I’d love for you to try to file a defamation suit,' she wrote.

Ms Agirtan first filed a concerns notice in October last year, which Ford failed to respond to.

She will now commence defamation proceedings for $150,000, demanding that Ford delete the posts and issue a public apology.

But Ms Agirtan told Daily Mail Australia she could be seeking as much a $700,000 in damages lost earnings. 

'Our client has been shunned and is viewed as dishonest by potential clients and this will likely increase in the future this harm,' her lawyer Mark Stanarevic at Matrix legal wrote. 

'Our client is likely to suffer serious harm as a result of her business as a accountant and aspiring politician.'

Mr Stanarevic added: 'The distress hasn't been just professional; my client has faced considerable emotional turmoil. 

'They have been on the receiving end of a barrage of abusive messages, many of them direct messages, sent by your followers.' 

Ms Agirtan, who gained 641 votes at the Victoria State election in 2022, said she that in the wake of Ford's posts she had received 'extremely graphic death threats, vile abuse, and hate mail suggesting that I kill myself'. 

When Daily Mail Australia approached Ford for comment, she simply responded with a screenshot of a previous Daily Mail article documenting Ms Agirtan's apology for allegedly making racist remarks.