Bruce Lehrmann is so unemployable his only chance of earning a salary would be through an online subscription platform primarily used by sex workers, his lawyer has claimed.
"The only shot he'd ever have of making money would be going on OnlyFans, or something silly like that," solicitor Zali Burrows told the Federal Court on Monday.
Ms Burrows made the unusual remark as she argued her client should be allowed to appeal a scathing sexual assault finding made against him.
She said Mr Lehrmann was "pretty much Australia's most hated man" and had not shown up for the case's latest court appearance because of his "mental health and his personal safety".
The man unsuccessfully sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a 2021 The Project interview he claimed defamed him.
After a month-long civil trial, Justice Michael Lee found he had, on the civil balance of probabilities, raped Brittany Higgins inside a Parliament House ministerial office after a drunken night out.
The judge ordered him to pay $2 million of Ten's legal costs as a result.
The court has previously heard Mr Lehrmann is on Centrelink and could be forced into bankruptcy by the significant financial demand.
He was reportedly served with a bankruptcy notice earlier this year but details surrounding the claim appeared to be in dispute in court.
Lehrmann being bullied
The Liberal staffer turned unemployed law student launched an appeal against Justice Lee's judgment, claiming, among other grounds, the judge could not have upheld Ten's substantial truth defence.
To try and overturn the findings, Mr Lehrmann must first overcome two hurdles.
He is asking Justice Wendy Abraham to stay Justice Lee's costs order while also fighting an application by Ten asking him to put down a $200,000 costs surety for his appeal proceedings to go ahead at all.
Ten and Ms Wilkinson argued Mr Lehrmann had his day in court and the bid to restore his reputation should not be allowed.
Ms Burrows said there was a strong public interest in not stifling her client's ability to appeal. She gave examples such as those watching the case live and the great deal of content published online about it.
"Even though this is a civil case, people throughout Australia, the public, everyone at large, will be of the view that Mr Lehrmann is a convicted rapist to a criminal standard," she said.
The solicitor argued the man should have the chance to clear that finding.
She also accused Ten of using bullying tactics to try and block the bid "because they know my client will not be able to come up with $200,000", a sum the lawyer said would not affect the television network greatly.
Appeal ground 'hopeless, faintly arguable'
On Monday, barrister Matthew Collins KC, representing Ten, said it was accepted Mr Lehrmann being ordered to put down any costs security would effectively stifle his bid.
"This is a man on no view of it does he have the finances to conduct the appeal," he said.
Dr Collins told Justice Abraham half of Mr Lehrmann's appeal grounds were "hopeless" and the other half "faintly arguable".
The barrister also said there was no public interest in letting the appeal go ahead.
"Of course the findings are devastating to Mr Lehrmann but that doesn't mean the reversal of those findings serve some broader public interest," Dr Collins said.
"He's had his day in court, he had a very expensive trial ... he was very ably represented and his honour made findings at the end of the day.
"It can't be right that in every case where the finding is serious there's a public interest in an appeal."
Ms Wilkinsons barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said the public interest in question had nothing to do with those watching the case over livestream or overwhelming media interest.
"What the media considers interesting and what a court considers a matter of public interest is not the same thing," she said.
Ms Chrysanthou said the court must consider if public confidence in the justice system would be affected by Mr Lehrmann being blocked from appealing because "he can't afford to go to the next step".
'Why should he get another day in court?'
Mr Lehrmann has also argued the conduct of Ten and Ms Wilkinson has, at least in part, prevented him from making money and being able to afford any legal costs.
But Dr Collins told the court Ten was not responsible for the allegation being initially published and the civil proceedings brought forward by Mr Lehrmann kept the public eye on him.
Ms Chrysanthou argued Mr Lehrmann has his day in court and the inability to make money had not stopped him from suing her client and the television network.
"Why should he get another day in court at the costs of the respondents?" she said.
Justice Lee's April judgment was made to a civil standard and does not amount to a criminal conviction.
Mr Lehrmann's ACT criminal trial was aborted in 2022 following juror misconduct and the charge of sexual intercourse without consent levelled at him dropped over concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health.
Justice Abraham reserved her decision for the two applications.
