Brewdog boss James Watts subject of ‘vicious and relentless’ abuse led by an ex-lover who wanted to ‘take him down’

28 September 2022, 11:28

Brewdog CEO James Watts
Brewdog CEO James Watts. Picture: PA Assignments / Alamy Stock Photo
Fran Way

By Fran Way

Brewdog boss James Watts was the subject of ‘vicious and relentless’ abuse led by an ex-lover who wanted to ‘take him down’.

Emili Ziem who he was ‘briefly in a relationship with’ set up fake social media accounts to spread ‘appalling’ lies about Mr Watts.

She then told him she could unmask the 'trolls' for a fee.

In a desperate bid to stop the ‘horrific’ abuse, he agreed to pay her around £100,000 – but the onslaught of hate continued.

He claims her campaign to ‘destroy him’ even saw her spread lies about his conduct with employees for a BBC documentary.

READ MORE:Harry Dunn's alleged killer set to face UK court for the first time

READ MORE: Two boys, aged 15 and 16, appear in court charged with murder of Khayri Mclean

A judge has now ordered her to pay back £600,000 including expenses after he was ‘harassed, defrauded and defamed’ which ‘deeply affected’ him, his family and business.

Writing on LinkedIn Mr Watts explained: “What we know now, and the court has found, is that she was actually one of the perpetrators and was operating an extremally active troll account against me as part of a dedicated network looking to ‘take James down’ (her words).

“She gave me knowingly false information with the sole intention of deceiving me into agreeing to pay her. She was, in fact, a key part of a network involved in a campaign to do as much damage to me as my business as possible, spreading false and defamatory information with the objective of destroying me personally and damaging our business.”

Mr Watts has vowed to donate the cash to charity.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Rick Buckler

Rick Buckler, drummer of The Jam, dies aged 69 - former bandmate Paul Weller confirms

Kitchen knives on a magnetic bar holder on the wall

Round-edged blades safer alternatives than sharp-pointed kitchen knives, research shows - in bid to tackle knife crime

A large sinkhole has forced the closure of the high street in the Surrey village of Godstone

Homes evacuated and major incident declared after 65ft sinkhole appears in Surrey village

Lydia Mugambe

United Nations judge forced woman to work as slave after tricking her to come to UK, court hears

Craig and Lindsay Foreman

Did motorbike couple's 'happiness' survey prompt arrest on spying charges in Iran?

Abdirahman Ibrahim has been convicted of murder after driving into the back of Liam Jones

Killer driver mows down e-bike rider to 'teach him lesson' for doing wheelies

The Vatican says Pope Francis is being treated for 'bilateral pneumonia'

New scans show Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs but Vatican says he remains ‘in good spirits’

Meghan

Meghan Markle could face 'legal action' from Spanish town as her new luxury brand logo faces resemblance to coat of arms

The father of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif is reportedly being protected by a 'Muslim gang'

Sara Sharif's father protected by 'Muslim gang' in jail after being attacked with jagged tuna lid

Zhenhao Zou is accused of raping three women in London and 7 in China, whilst they were unconscious

PhD student 'discussed rape role-play' with alleged victim, trial hears

Exclusive
Senior Tories including Suella Braverman and Michael Gove have criticised the judge's comments

Senior Tories blast 'out of touch' judge for 'ludicrous attack' on Starmer’s migrant remarks

Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, died in an airstrike, Hamas said

Bodies of youngest Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother and mother to be handed over as family ‘in turmoil’

Lisa Smith, 43, was with a female friend when she was killed outside the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, Kent

Man suspected of fatally shooting wife outside pub on Valentine's Day rang friend and said 'she's dead'

Carry On legend Julian Holloway dies aged 80

Carry On legend Julian Holloway dies aged 80 after 'brief illness' as tributes pour in

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned 'any appearance by armed forces under some other flag' in Ukraine would be 'completely unacceptable', in a dig at a peace plan floated by Keir Starmer.

Keir Starmer’s Ukraine peacekeeping plan ‘completely unacceptable’, Russia tells US in Saudi Arabia talks

Rita Lambourne, 58, was “fatally wounded” at her home in Bayencourt South, Bexhill

Man charged with axe murder of woman in own home