Nigella Lawson congratulates Lisa Wilkinson’s on defamation win over Bruce Lehrmann
British TV chef Nigella Lawson has shared her support for Lisa Wilkinson after winning her defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann.
Lehrmann sued Network Ten and Wilkinson for defamation over a February 2021 report on The Project, in which Brittany Higgins alleged he raped her in an office at Parliament House almost two years earlier.
Federal Court Judge Michael Lee ruled in favor of Network 10 on Monday, ruling that the report was truthful in the allegations against Lehrmann.
A few hours after the verdict was read, Lawson took to X, formerly Twitter, to congratulate Wilkinson.
‘So proud of Lisa Wilkinson. And so relieved for all of us,” she wrote.
Nigella Lawson (right) congratulated Lisa Wilkinson (left) on her victory in her defamation case against accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann
Peter FitzSimons, Wilkinson’s husband, responded to Lawson by simply writing: ‘Thank you, Nigella.’
Wilkinson and Lawson have connected several times, including in 2016 when Wilkinson had a “girl crush” moment with the celebrity chef.
She had shared a selfie of her and Lawson cooking a recipe from her cookbook, Simply Nigella.
Lawson also recently shared the love under an Instagram post that Wilkinson captioned, “Some days are diamonds.”
Lawson noted, “And some people are diamonds!”
Justice Lee told the court on Monday that ‘Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins’.
His finding was based on the civil court’s standard – the balance of probabilities, and not on the criminal court’s standard of beyond reasonable doubt.
Outside court, a like-minded Ms Wilkinson said: ‘Today the Federal Court found that I published a true story about a rape at a federal politician’s office in March 2019.
“I sincerely hope that the verdict will empower women across the country.
Lisa Wilkinson thanked the public as she won the defamation case brought against her and Network Ten by Bruce Lehrmann
Lisa Wilkinson (right) hugged her lawyer Sue Chrysanthou KC outside the courtroom and thanked her profusely
‘I am also so grateful to have been able to make use of our independent legal team.’
She thanked her lawyer Sue Chrysanthou KC for her “expertise and wise counsel,” which have been “a source of continued strength for me over the past fourteen months.”
Wilkinson also thanked her family and friends and ‘generous’ members of the public who often approach her in tears.
“Throughout every step of this process, I was surrounded by the love of my incredibly supportive family.
“And also incredibly supportive friends and colleagues. I can never thank them enough.
“I also wanted to say how grateful I am to the public who approached me almost every day to express their continued support, often through tears.”
Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons tweeted that he was “very proud.”
Bruce Lehrmann didn’t say a word as he stormed through the press pack after Judge Lee’s ruling
Lehrmann, on the other hand, didn’t say a word as he stormed through the press pack after the ruling.
The former Liberal staffer sat with his head bowed as he listened to the judge’s findings.
“He was a 23-year-old man who cheated on his girlfriend, having just had a ‘relationship’ with a woman he found sexually attractive,” Judge Lee said.
“Human experience shows that what he then wanted to happen is not exactly shrouded in mystery.”
The judge said Lehrmann “was determined to have sex with a woman he found sexually attractive, who had passionately kissed and touched … and whose inhibitions he knew were reduced.”
“He didn’t care one way or the other whether Mrs. Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on.
Judge Lee found that, contrary to Lehrmann’s evidence, sexual intercourse occurred and that Ms. Higgins did not consent to it.
“I am convinced that sexual intercourse took place,” the judge said.
Judge Lee said Lehrmann was “on top” of Ms Higgins and she was unable to get off the bench.
Mr Lehrmann initiated defamation proceedings after the criminal trial collapsed. The judge said of that decision: ‘After escaping from the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat’
Had the 28-year-old won his defamation case, he would have only been entitled to a “very modest” amount of $20,000 in damages, given the limited nature of the damages resulting from Ten’s reporting, Judge Lee said.
While a Logies speech by Lisa Wilkinson on The Project segment derailed the criminal proceedings against Lehrmann and denied him the right to a fair trial, it gave his legal team more time to attack Ms Higgins’ allegations.
The criminal trial against Lehrmann was halted in 2022 without any findings being made against him.
“After escaping from the lion’s den, Mr. Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Judge Lee said.
Judge Lee described both Lehrmann and Ms Higgins as ‘unreliable historians’ as they recounted what happened that fateful night.
The judge said Ms Higgins had been detached from the truth about allegations made to Ten in 2021 that members of the then coalition government had tried to silence her when reporting the alleged rape.
But Judge Lee found that any false statements made to police in 2019 were not inconsistent with the comments made by a real sexual assault victim.
The judge found all incorrect statements made by Brittany Higgins to the police in 2019 to be explainable
The judge also convicted Ten for his behavior after Wilkinson gave a Logie speech in which she praised Higgins’ bravery just eight days before Lehrmann’s criminal trial.
The judge pointed out that Ms Wilkinson did seek advice, but Network Ten let her down by suggesting she make the speech in support of Ms Higgins.
“Ten’s behavior… was grossly inappropriate and unjustifiable.”