Craig McLachlan to pay costs after dropping defamation case against Herald, ABC

Actor Craig McLachlan has been ordered to pay costs estimated to be about $2 million after he abruptly abandoned his defamation case against two media organisations and his former co-star two weeks into the trial.

McLachlan, 56, sued The Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC and actress Christie Whelan Browne in the NSW Supreme Court in 2018 over an investigation which alleged he indecently assaulted and sexually harassed female performers during the 2014 stage production of The Rocky Horror Show.

Craig McLachlan arrives at court this week with his partner Vanessa Scammell.Credit: Nick Moir

When the trial began this month, the media organisations and Whelan Browne argued the defences of truth and contextual truth, with 11 women due to give evidence that they were harassed by McLachlan.

On Friday, when the media organisations and Whelan Browne were set to open their case, barrister Michael Hodge, QC, said he had “just been given notice that Mr McLachlan is applying for leave to discontinue the proceedings”.

Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson ordered the case be discontinued and said she would explain to the jury of three women and one man that McLachlan is “not proceeding, or has abandoned the case”.

McLachlan’s barrister Kieran Smark, SC, said he would prefer the term “not proceeding”, while Hodge said he would “prefer, accurately, ‘abandoned the case’.”

Under the terms of the withdrawal, McLachlan must pay the costs of the defendants, including indemnity costs from February 24 to May 20, and he is barred from bringing further proceedings over what was published.

Craig McLachlan’s barristers leave court on Friday.Credit: Jessica Hromas

It is understood the Herald and the ABC each incurred about $1.1 million in costs, with McLachlan’s own legal bill estimated to be of a similar magnitude.

In a statement read outside court by her lawyer Marina Olsen, Whelan Browne said she was pleased the claim had been withdrawn.

She said she chose to speak to the media about McLachlan’s behaviour, alongside fellow actresses Erika Heynatz and Angela Scundi, after the trio tried to raise their concerns with Rocky Horror production company The Gordon Frost Organisation and were threatened with defamation.

“We came forward for no other reason than to protect the women performing in the 2018 production of the show, so they didn’t have to endure the same behaviour that we did in 2014; that was our only intention,” Whelan Browne’s statement said.

“I was then singled out and sued for defamation. My name was dragged through the mud and my character and own behaviour was exaggerated and called into question ... the past four-and-a-half years have significantly traumatised me and the other brave women who spoke up at the time and afterwards.”

Whelan Browne said she has lost her feeling of safety in the world “knowing someone wanted so badly to damage me for speaking the truth”.

“I am pleased this claim has been withdrawn, and I look forward to moving on with my life,” she said. “I hope this is a reminder that women will stand up for themselves and each other, even when threatened by those more powerful.”

McLachlan, who was not in court when his case was withdrawn, said in a statement that the defamation trial had put an “utterly overwhelming” strain on him and his family.

“I cannot continue to place my family under that strain, and my own mental health will not withstand the continuing pressure,” he said. “Ending the case now will finally bring to an end the four years we have endured since the publications were first made, as well as avoiding the need for other witnesses to have to endure the cross-examination process.”

McLachlan said he looked forward to restoring his health and spending more time with friends and family who stood by him throughout the process.

“I will not be making further public statements on this matter,” he said.

In an opening statement in the case, McLachlan’s barrister had said his client was subjected to a “double-pronged attack” by two powerful media organisations, and the case had come to court because it was “the place where Mr McLachlan can respond to the strong attack that those publications made on him”.

The court heard a brief outline of the evidence the 11 women were expected to give about McLachlan, including incidents of sexual harassment, indecent exposure, indecent assault and bullying.

Five of the women were actors in the 2014 production of The Rocky Horror Show and one was a crew member, while the other five women worked with McLachlan on different productions including Neighbours in the 1980s, City Homicide, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and the 2018 season of Rocky Horror.

Executive editor of the Herald and The Age Tory Maguire said in a statement on Friday that the investigation into McLachlan was published during the height of the #MeToo movement.

“McLachlan’s claim against one of his victims, Christie Whelan Browne, and the media outlets, utilising Australia’s defamation laws, has had a chilling effect on victims’ willingness to tell their stories about other abusers, and the media’s ability to report on these serious allegations,” Maguire said.

“The victims, the media and the public’s right to know have been damaged by this case, more than any costs order can ever repay. This result today is vindication of both McLachlan’s victims and our public interest journalism.”

Director of ABC News Justin Stevens said the withdrawal was a “tremendous result” for the women who showed the courage to speak up publicly.

“Eleven women came forward to give evidence against McLachlan. They would not be silenced,” Stevens said. “It is crucial that defamation laws also not be used to silence the media in reporting accurately and with integrity on matters of such great public interest.

“The ABC stands by its journalism. It stands by the women who came forward. It stands by Christie Whelan Browne.”

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