High court orders ‘Guyanese Critic’ to pay $8M in Simona Broomes defamation case

Controversial social media commentator Mikhail Rodrigues, popularly known as “Guyanese Critic”, has been ordered by the High Court to pay $8 million in damages to political activist and former minister Simona Broomes after being found liable for defamatory statements made during a live broadcast earlier this year.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Priscilla Hanif on Friday morning, following a lawsuit filed by Broomes in February 2024. In the suit, Broomes accused Rodrigues of using his online platform to make false and damaging allegations about her character and professional conduct.

During a January 22, 2024, broadcast on his Facebook page “They Break News”, Rodrigues made a series of claims during a live segment titled “MORNING LIVE”. WITH THE CRITIC.”
The court found that the statements included serious and unfounded allegations regarding her position in nefarious activities. For those remarks alone, Rodrigues was ordered to pay $5 million in damages. The remaining $3 million was awarded in connection with additional claims made by Rodrigues, alleging that Broomes had used her position as a government minister for her personal gain. The Court also deemed those allegations defamatory.
In addition to the monetary penalties, Justice Hanif ordered Rodrigues to take down all content related to the defamatory claims from all social media platforms. Interest on the awarded sum will accrue from the date the lawsuit was filed.
This judgement marks another legal setback for Rodrigues, who has faced multiple defamation suits in recent months. Earlier this week, he and fellow social commentator Freddie Kissoon were ordered to pay $6 million to a former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament over similar allegations aired online.
And in March this year, Rodrigues was slapped with a hefty $52 million judgement in a separate case brought against him by the wealthy Mohamed family for defamatory statements, also disseminated via his social media pages.