Network 10 hits back at ‘unfair’ criticism of Lisa Wilkinson amid Logies speech storm

Wilkinson did not appear on The Project on Thursday night and there was no mention of the case or of her Logies speech.

Network Ten has hit back at “unfair” criticism of Lisa Wilkinson in the wake of her Logies speech, which contributed to the trial of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann being delayed.

The Network on Thursday night fired back at stories about Wilkinson and said it would not rule out taking legal action.

Wilkinson did not appear on The Project on Thursday night and there was no mention of the case or of her Logies speech.

Thursday’s panel, of which she is usually a part, instead consisted of Georgie Tunny, Waleed Aly, Tony Armstrong and Tom Cashman.

Wilkinson has cancelled all her appearances on the show for the week, The Australian reported.

A statement from Ten said some recent reporting on the TV host had been “inaccurate and unfair”, before making a mysterious claim that “there are significant facts that cannot be disclosed until after the trial has concluded”.

“This reporting is now causing significant harm and we ask these organisations to cease this harassment to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner,” a spokesperson for the network said.

“We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.

“Network 10 continues to fully support Lisa in her ongoing and full commitment to doing the right thing as a witness in the trial.”

Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons also showed his support for the embattled star by tweeting an article about Ten’s statement.

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Lisa Wilkinson giving her speech at the Logies last weekend. Picture: Channel 9

Lisa Wilkinson was noticeably absent from Channel 10’s The Project tonight amid the storm of controversy over her Logies speech.

Lisa Wilkinson was due to co-host The Project on Thursday night but it has been confirmed she will not be on tonight's program.

— Sophie Elsworth (@sophieelsworth) June 23, 2022

Lehrmann’s barrister Steve Whybrow on Thursday morning applied for the trial to start early next year because “the bushfires are still burning” following Wilkinson’s speech.

“My application would be, to the extent that the bush fire is still burning in effect, that the trial commence early next year because we would like there to be no further issues and delays,” he told the ACT Supreme Court.

“We can foresee the possibility that there may be collateral matters that need to be investigated relating to the circumstances that have led to the trial being vacated.”

But ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said a three-month delay was more appropriate and the four-week trial will now commence in October.

Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty and has given a police interview stating he did not have sex with Ms Higgins.

In her speech accepting a Silver Logie for her interview with Ms Higgins on The Project, Wilkinson “completely obliterated” the line between an allegation and a finding of guilt, Justice McCallum told the court on Tuesday.

Wilkinson was given a “clear and appropriate” warning by prosecutors against making public statements about the case during a conference on June 15 to discuss evidence she was expected to give at the trial as a witness, Justice McCallum said.

Wilkinson and Channel 10 could be set to cough up an extraordinary amount of cash to smooth over the speech after reports she and the network had employed the services of high-profile lawyer Matthew Collins.

Network 10 could be set to cough up an extraordinary amount of cash to smooth over the speech after employing high-profile lawyer Matthew Collins on behalf of the Network and Wilkinson.

Just hours before he was hired by Channel 10, Mr Collins - president of the Australian Bar Association - told Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday morning that The Project host may be in serious trouble.

“It’s certainly possible that the authorities will be looking at the speech she made to the Logies and assessing (whether) that speech went against the standard which applies in this branch of the law,” Dr Collins said.

“That standard is, did anything that she did have a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice?”

Ten confirmed that Dr Collins had been called upon to represent the network and Wilkinson, adding that Ten “fully supports Lisa Wilkinson”.

“Both Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson take their legal obli­gations very seriously, including in the preparation and delivery of her speech given at the Logies event,” a spokeswoman said.

“In light of the continuing proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”