Lisa Wilkinson's fears over losing her home
Lisa Wilkinson's fears over losing her multi-million dollar mansion to cover her legal fees have been detailed in a series of court documents.
The former host of The Project entered into a bitter legal battle after being sued for defamation by Bruce Lehrmann, and decided to hire top defamation lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC and her own legal team to fight the charges.
In a series of emotional emails and documents tendered by the Federal Court, Wilkinson was allegedly "almost hysterical" and "sobbing" over the notion of losing her home in Cremorne to pay the hefty legal fees.
In a briefing note prepared for Ten’s legal team, Network Ten CEO Beverley McGarvey detailed a “challenging” call she had with the network star on June 7th 2023.
McGarvey had called to ask how Ms Wilkinson was going in the wake of Channel 7’s Spotlight program and the leaking of audio provided to police and lawyers but never tendered in court.
“Lisa was very upset and emotional and it was a very challenging call,” MsMcGarvey wrote.
“She was almost immediately upset and started talking about legal fees and how she would have to sell her house."
“I would say her tone was almost hysterical.”
McGarvey then did her best to ease Wilkinson's concerns, reminding her of her secure financial position.
“She is being paid by us on full salary, and lives in a lavish multimillion dollar home with a pool and a tennis court and harbour views so I hope this is not a real risk,” she said.
“She asked if we would pay for her fees and this came up over and over again in the conversation. I told her to talk with Nick, her manager."
“But she had chosen her own legal team against our advice and chosen a team we objected to.
“She said if I actually cared about her, I would make sure we pay their legal fees.”
The documents were released by the Federal Court on Friday after Ms Wilkinson won her legal battle to force Network Ten to pay for her legal fees that are estimated to amount to up to $2 million.
The exact amount Ten will pay has not yet been determined.
Image credits: Getty Images