Bruce Lehrmann felt isolated and ostracised after The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins in 2022, the former Liberal staffer said as he took to the witness box at his defamation suit against Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
Giving evidence in the federal court, Lehrmann said he had been “booted out” of a Facebook Messenger group chat with three close friends after the program aired and was “unfriended” by many on social media.
“I became severely isolated,” Lehrmann said, adding that he was admitted to a private hospital suffering emotional distress. “I have worked out who my real friends were.”
It was the first time Lehrmann has spoken in open court as he was not required to give evidence during the criminal trial, which was aborted last year.
Lehrmann maintains his innocence and pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
In December prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
Lehrmann was also shown copies of articles on independent blogs that named him as the alleged assailant referred to by The Project.
Before lunch the court was told that the interview Wilkinson conducted with Higgins had destroyed Lehrmann’s life and he was seeking vindication and compensation.
In his opening submission, Lehrmann’s barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, said Higgins had been canonised by Ten and Wilkinson when she alleged she had been raped by a colleague in Parliament House, Canberra.
“There were no eyewitnesses, no audiovisual recording, no audio recording, no admissions, just two competing versions” of what happened when Lehrmann and Higgins entered the building in the early hours in March 2019, Richardson said.
“He understands that he can’t persuade everybody, but following the withdrawal of the criminal proceedings against him, he brings these proceedings against his most prominent accusers, Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, and The Project.”
The court heard that The Project’s producer did not give Lehrmann ample time to respond to a program which was weeks in the making and already “set in stone”.
The subsequent broadcast on Channel Ten of the interview was viewed live by 725,000 people and by a further 200,000 on 10 Play before it was taken down – at which time the “poison would have spread”, Richardson said.
“My client has been publicly maligned, as certainly the most prominent rapist, probably one of the more revolting predators, in the recent history of this country.
“Mr Lehrmann has lost everything. A substantial award of damages will be called for, accompanied by a written judgment, particularly critical in this case, vindicating Mr Lehrmann.”
Richardson said it was clear Ten had taken Higgins’ side and she had been “portrayed in an entirely positive way”.
“Essentially she is canonised by this program and Ms Wilkinson. She is held up as the epitome of truthfulness and decency. Not a scintilla of doubt is applied to any aspect of her complaint or allegations. The message is plainly ‘what she says has happened’.”
Richardson said Higgins was an “unreliable witness” because of “inconsistencies and improbabilities” which accumulated during the criminal trial and successive accounts of her conversations with colleagues after the alleged encounter.
Lehrmann’s team will also raise the “precise time at which these allegations emerged”, which they say was only after Lehrmann had packed up his office and left and Higgins had been spoken to about the “security implications” of entering Parliament House after hours.
Justice Michael Lee rejected Channel Ten’s submission to not livestream the defamation proceedings in the interests of open justice.
The ABC settled the defamation case brought against it over a 2022 National Press Club speech by Higgins out of court before proceedings started on Wednesday.
The hearing continues on Thursday with Lehrmann again in the stand.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). The crisis support service Lifeline is at 13 11 14.
