Lisa Wilkinson sues Network Ten over Bruce Lehrmann defamation legal bill
Lisa Wilkinson is suing Network 10 over a $723,000 legal bill in her defamation suit brought by Bruce Lehrmann.
Lisa Wilkinson is suing Network 10, claiming her former employer backed out of an agreement to pay her legal costs in their defamation suit brought by Bruce Lehrmann, according to a report on Thursday.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the broadcaster is refusing to pay two invoices totalling $723k for legal services after Wilkinson hired star barrister barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC and Gillis Delaney Lawyers partner Anthony Jefferies earlier this year, instead of opting to use Network 10’s retained law firm Thomson Geer.
The star quit Channel 10’s The Project in November 2022 saying she had been subject to “targeted toxicity”.
Wilkinson has now launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court, alleging that Network 10 twice accepted it was liable to indemnify the TV star even if she was “independently represented”, according to the report.
In a statement, Network 10 said: “The lawyers engaged by Lisa Wilkinson have issued invoices for a very substantial amount of money, in excess of $700,000, and in good governance these need to be justified through due process.
“In the meantime, Network 10’s focus is on defending the defamation claim brought by Bruce Lehrmann.”
Mr Lehrmann is suing Network 10, Wilkinson and the ABC for defamation over their reporting of a sexual assault allegation made by Brittany Higgins in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann has alleged that Wilkinson’s interview with Ms Higgins on The Project, which was broadcast on February 15, 2021, conveyed a series of defamatory meanings, including that he raped Ms Higgins in then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019.
Wilkinson was nominated for two Walkley Awards and won a Logie Award for the interview.
After her exit from The Project, Paramount Australia executive vice president Beverely McGarvey – the network’s programming guru – hinted at big plans for Wilkinson.
“I know she will be sorely missed both by our audience, and the entire Project team, and while we are saddened that Lisa will no longer be on The Project, we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Lisa into 2023 and beyond,” she said at the time.
But she hasn’t been on air since. It’s understood Wilkinson is still under contract with Network 10, which is a deal that reportedly extends into next year and is said to be worth seven figures.
Mr Lehrmann stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year after pleading not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
The charges were subsequently dropped by ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold and Mr Lehrmann has continued to deny the allegation.
An inquiry, headed by retired Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff, was established to examine the conduct of Mr Drumgold and criminal justice agencies in the case against Mr Lehrmann.
The inquiry handed down its final report in August, delivering a scathing rebuke of Mr Drumgold’s conduct and leading to his resignation.
Mr Sofronoff found the decision to charge and prosecute Mr Lehrmann was the correct course of action but made several serious findings of misconduct against Mr Drumgold.
Mr Drumgold has brought legal action seeking to set aside the inquiry‘s findings.
In June, the federal court ruled that the Mr Lehrmann’s defamation lawsuit would be decided by a judge and not a jury, after finding there was a risk of prejudice due to the amount of publicity surrounding the case.
The case is expected to start on November 22, with Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann both understood to be giving evidence.
Wilkinson began her media career in publishing and at 21 became the editor of Dolly magazine, tripling its circulation.
She then took the reins at Cleo after ACP boss and media magnate Kerry Packer personally tapped her for the role.
In the late 1990s, Wilkinson jumped to television and became a regular panellist on the hit show Beauty and the Beast, hosted by the legendary Stan Zemanek.
In mid-2007, she joined the Today show as co-host alongside Karl Stefanovic and together the pair became powerhouses of breakfast television.
In 2016, Today won the crucial ratings race against Channel 7’s Sunrise for the first time in 12 years, but 12 months later things fell apart when Wilkinson quit the network over a reported gender pay gap.
She jumped ship to Network 10 and became a part-time host of The Project in 2018.
– with NCA NewsWire
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