Lisa Wilkinson pulls out of high-profile speaking event and is replaced by Em Rusciano ahead of Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial
Lisa Wilkinson has pulled out of a highly anticipated speaking event, just a month before it was due to take place.
The former project manager, 63, was due to appear as the keynote speaker at the Business Women Albury Wodonga 2023 Gala next month.
But the TV host pulled out of the event, which costs attendees $210 a head, Australian reported.
Wilkinson, who was scheduled to host the business event, will be replaced by comedian Em Rusciano.
Rusciano, 44, recently appeared as a contestant on The Masked Singer Australia, finishing as runner-up in the 2021 season as ‘Dolly’.
Lisa Wilkinson withdrew from the speech and replaced Em Rusciano ahead of Bruce Lehrman’s libel trial
The event was scheduled to take place less than two weeks after the libel trial brought by Bruce Lehrman against the journalist.
Mr. Lehrmann is suing Network 10 over an interview aired on The Project in February 2021, in which Brittany Higgins first alleged to Wilkinson that she had been raped by a ‘male colleague’ in Parliament in 2019.
According to a lawsuit filed in Federal Court on February 7, Mr. Lehrmann will claim that Channel 10 and Wilkinson were ‘recklessly indifferent to truth or falsehood’ when the allegations against him were made.
Specifically, it will be alleged that Wilkinson “sought to exploit the false allegations of sexual assault made by Ms. Higgins for his own personal and professional gain.”
Lehrmann was accused of raping Ms Higgins six months after the interview aired.
He pleaded not guilty during his rape trial in the ACT Supreme Court in October last year.
The TV host pulled out of the event, which costs participants $210 a head. Wilkinson, who was supposed to host the business event, will be replaced by Em Rusciano
The event was due to take place less than two weeks after Bruce Lehrman’s (pictured) libel trial against the journalist
The trial was suspended in November due to misconduct by a member of the jury. ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC then stood down from the trial altogether due to concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Mr. Lehrmann was not named during an interview with The Project or publicly identified as Ms. Higgins’ alleged rapist until August 2021, when he was formally charged with sexual assault.
However, it is understood that his colleagues in Parliament knew of the charges against him before the criminal charges were filed.
Brit Higgins first alleged that Lisa Wilkinson (pictured left, with Ms Higgins) was raped by a ‘male colleague’ in Parliament in 2019.