Canadian politician condemns 'cyber bullying' by teenager who put her lesbian topless shower scene online

  • Before moving into politics, Lenore Zann was an actress and once appeared topless in Showtimes,The L Word
  • Teenager, Nick Scissons, tweeted Lenore's raunchy topless scene and refused to take it down when asked
  • Ms. Zann went to the police, informed the boy's college and even rang his father
  • Offending picture was finally removed and police have dropped the case; no prosecutions will occur

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 12:26 EST, 14 December 2013 | UPDATED: 16:51 EST, 14 December 2013


A Canadian politician says she has become a victim of cyberbullying after a teenager posted a topless photo of her online.

Lenore Zann, a member of the Nova Scotia legislature said the picture was taken from an episode in the Showtime series The L Word, a drama series portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, straight and transgender people and their friends.

Ms. Zann appeared topless in one episode that was shot in 2008, in which she played a small part in a prison shower scene.

Caught out: Lenore Zann claims she was a victim of cyber-bullying. 'I never signed on for having that image used for another purpose,' she said in an interview

Caught out: Lenore Zann claims she was a victim of cyber-bullying. 'I never signed on for having that image used for another purpose,' she said in an interview

When the photo was tweeted to her @lenorezann two weeks ago, she asked the sender to remove the image, which she said included a message that said, 'What happened to the old Lenore?'

The tweeter, NickScissons @Ncissons, a 17-year old high school student from Truro, said he meant it as a joke. 'I just thought it would be funny, pretty much,' he said.

 

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'It was just meant to be funny and got out of hand I guess,' he said. But 'she was on that show voluntarily and she knew that image was out there and I don't think I said anything mean about her.'

Zann said she noticed the tweet that night and messaged Scissons to ask him to take it down.

Twit on twitter: Nick Scissons said he deleted the naked image of Lenore Zann from his Twitter feed after she phoned his father at home to complain, however he continued to tweet obscenities at her because he felt frustrated

Twit on twitter: Nick Scissons said he deleted the naked image of Lenore Zann from his Twitter feed after she phoned his father at home to complain, however he continued to tweet obscenities at her because he felt frustrated

Number 1 dummy: The 17-year-old teenager, Nick Scisson, was told my his mom, Susan McCarron, that it was a dumb move to tweet the picture of Lenore online

Number 1 dummy: The 17-year-old teenager, Nick Scisson, was told my his mom, Susan McCarron, that it was a dumb move to tweet the picture of Lenore online

'Luckily the old Lenore Zann got in shape so she can kick some political butt! Please remove this photo,' she tweeted.

But the Scissons refused, and an online conversation soon included others who began retweeting the image and began hurling insults at her.

On Twitter she wrote: 'Perhaps you've missed the new federal legislation' and 'Distribution of this image falls under the Criminal Code. It has been reported.'

Scissons replied, arguing the photo was public on the internet.

During the exchange, which lasted around three hours, Zann said she felt increasingly picked on.

'I never signed on for having that image used for another purpose,' she said in an interview.

'I signed a contract ... for my image only to be used in 'The L Word' show. It's not just the image of the picture that was disturbing. It was the way that these people ... suddenly targeted me. It increased in velocity and intent. It was constant and it was harassing.'

I was being cyberbullied so I felt that I needed to call the police. The police suggested that I call the CyberScan unit as well and that's what they're there for. That's why we legislated them, so that they'd be there to help people who feel that they are being bullied by other people online,' she said.

'It was Twitter where I was being tweeted at. I was being sworn at. They were swearing at me. They were disrespectful. It was constant. It was harassment and it was frightening. I was afraid. So that for me accounts for my feeling that I was being bullied. And because it's online, that’s cyberbullying.'

The actor-cum-politician said she got in touch with the original tweeter's parents, and the principal at his college.

Previous career: Lenore Zann (left), a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who acted in an a TV series and appeared in lesbian shower scene at a women's prison has claimed she was 'cyberbullied' after the image was tweeted online

Previous career: Lenore Zann (left), a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who acted in an a TV series and appeared in lesbian shower scene at a women's prison has claimed she was 'cyberbullied' after the image was tweeted online

Ms. Zann's exchange about the incident on Twitter: She tried to bring the full force of the law upon the teenager but the federal cyber-bullying legislation, introduced in November has yet to become law

Ms. Zann's exchange about the incident on Twitter: She tried to bring the full force of the law upon the teenager but the federal cyber-bullying legislation, introduced in November has yet to become law

Case dismissed: Lenore Zann has employed a new law to launch an investigation against a teenager she alleges was cyberbullying her on Twitter

Case dismissed: Lenore Zann has employed a new law to launch an investigation against a teenager she alleges was cyberbullying her on Twitter

Scissons said he deleted the naked image of Zann from his Twitter feed after Zann phoned his father at home to complain. His mother, Susan McCarron, said she was angry.

'It was like, 'Take the photo down. Period.' And he responded, 'It's down.' That was around suppertime on Saturday,' said Mrs McCarron.

McCarron said she told her son it was a dumb move. 'I think it was done without considering consequences and I think it was a poor decision,' she said.

Scissons agreed, but both mother and son said the complaint to the cyberbullying unit went too far.

'I can see why she was angry, but I think this is an over-escalation of the situation and I'd like to see it end,' Mrs McCarron said.

The former actress also summoned the local school board, Truro police and Nova Scotia's new cyberbullying investigation unit, known as CyberScan.

Teen twit: Nick Scissons, 17, sent a screen capture from the L Word showing Zann's exposed breasts

Teen twit: Nick Scissons, 17, sent a screen capture from the L Word showing Zann's exposed breasts

Truro police Chief David McNeil said an investigation last week determined the case was not a criminal matter. 'Since then, our file has been concluded,' he said. They have since closed their investigation without finding any criminal wrongdoing.

A spokesman for Nova Scotia's Justice Department said the CyberScan unit does not discuss details of individual cases.

The unit was set up earlier this year when Nova Scotia introduced the Cyber-safety Act, which the province describes as the first law in Canada aimed at protecting the victims of cyberbullying and making those responsible accountable under the law.

The act defines cyberbullying as any electronic communication 'that is intended or ought reasonably be expected to cause fear, intimidation, humiliation, distress or other damage or harm to another person's health, emotional well-being, self-esteem or reputation.'

Excuse: Nick Scissons said, 'It was just meant to be funny and got out of hand I guess. She was on that show voluntarily and she knew that image was out there and I don't think I said anything mean about her.'

Excuse: Nick Scissons said, 'It was just meant to be funny and got out of hand I guess. She was on that show voluntarily and she knew that image was out there and I don't think I said anything mean about her.'

The CBC reported that Scissons, the teenager from Truro, said he sent the tweet, thought it was nothing more than a joke and the issue was blown out of proportion.

However, Ms. Zann insisted that subsequent tweets from Scissons and others were filled with nasty taunts and vulgar insults.

'It was becoming more and more like a pack mentality,' she said. 'They were attacking me.'

Ms. Zann said the image was eventually deleted after she spoke with the boy's father and school officials.

No sympathy for 'bullied' politician: Despite Lenore Zann telling the parents of the boy who tweeted her, informing the police and even tell his school about his actions, there will be no penalties or prosecutions for Nick Scissons

No sympathy for 'bullied' politician: Despite Lenore Zann telling the parents of the boy who tweeted her, informing the police and even tell his school about his actions, there will be no penalties or prosecutions for Nick Scissons

Wayne MacKay, a law professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax and an expert on cyberbullying, said Ms Zann's complaint appears to meet the act's definition of cyberbullying.

He said even if the sender intended the message to be a joke, the law states that an offence has been committed if the accused ought to have known their actions would cause harm.

'It's not about whether you absolutely intended to do it,' MacKay said. 'It's really looking more at what's the impact on the victim. ... The fact that you didn't really intend to be malicious is not necessarily a form of defence.'

Professor MacKay said just because an image is in the public domain, that doesn't mean it can be used for any purpose.

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Vote her out.

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She is narsty! Nothing like an angry woman trying to avoid being labeled for her sexual prefefrence prior to an election. I am sure that her real persuasion will be leaked after the results of voting.

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this woman is an imbecile.

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She wears a lot of makeup. I guess it is to cover up the marks from the ten foot poles. :)

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The scene is available in any DVD shop, on any box set. She voluntarily filmed the scene - as part of her acting job. It didn't bother her then, so why is she being so precious about it now? (And, yes, the kid is still an idiot, but "cyber-bullying"? Hardly).

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Nick is displaying some very problematic behaviour!! he should be lobotomized his crimes ill only mutate to more serious crimes

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While I don't know what the laws up in Canada are concerning "fair use" it would seem that there is a "teaching moment" here: don't film anything you would not made public. People no longer seem honor bound to keep anything private. Now where are those "cheesecake" pictures of my ex? Just kidding.

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That whole thing got out of hand. He's an idiot and most likely knew that photo would wind her up. He's old enough to know better and ignored her polite request to remove the image, knowing it was upsetting her. I understand she felt threatened by nasty comments from tweeters, but she overkilled the situation with the cyber police unit.

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Were you paid by her to post this drivel?

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Googled the image, and...Eeessh!!__where can we sign up for the class action cyberbullying lawsuit against this woman for foisting her horrific nude image on the worldwide public??!!

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If I had twitter I'd post this everyday for a month. Come get me.

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