Ziggy Fails To Hit Stardust In Internet Meme Case

An Australian teenager is hoping to turn his internet humiliation into cash following a picture of him going viral. Ali Ziggi Mosslamni, known as "Ziggy" to his friends, became the subject of internet fame and, to a certain extent, ridicule when a photo of him at his friend Paul Behman's 18th birthday party caught the attention of internet users.

The photo in question was fairly mundane and showed Ziggy dancing at his friend's party. However, it was Ziggy's haircut which propelled the teen to internet fame due to his mullet style. The photograph itself has become popular on Facebook and has since spawned memes, humorous internet pictures, pointing fun at Ziggy's mullet including Ziggy's face being photoshopped onto Mount Rushmore and a dollar bill.

It seems that although Behman has found the memes of his friend to be hilarious, Ziggy does not agree. He has since decided to sue Sydney's Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail and the Australian Radio Network for defamation. The teen claims that the widespread coverage of the various memes which have arisen on the internet regarding his mullet have depicted him as "hideously ugly" and subjected him to ridicule.

However, at a preliminary ruling a District Court judge criticised Ziggy's claim. This was on the basis that the coverage and memes did not actually portray the teen as ugly, but rather they all criticised his haircut for being ridiculous.  The Judge felt that Ziggy's claim was designed to claim as many imputations as possible. Ziggy is still set to proceed with his defamation claim, with the trial for the case being set for the 17 November 2016.

Whilst the outcome of the case is yet to be decided, it appears that the only thing for certain is that Ziggy's mullet will remain.  Behman has made clear that Ziggy has had the same haircut for the past four years and thinks his friend will stick with the hairstyle, however ridiculous the internet may think it is.