Regarding who funds the costs of the action, etc., it is important to understand that in any civil action it is entirely possible for the "winner" to be heavily out of pocket in the end. Even if you are awarded "expenses" that is only often/usually/always (I am uncertain which applies) an amount calculated by the court, not a reimbursement of what was laid out for every aspect of preparing and fighting the case, whether pursuer or defendant. I do feel that some of the reactions being shown spring from an us-and-them attitude toward the public figure who is not destitute.