Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has spoken to Channel 7’s Spotlight program two years after allegations were made public that he raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
Lehrmann’s trial was abandoned last year due to juror misconduct, with ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, SC– who brought the prosecution against Lehrmann– announcing he still believed in a reasonable prospect of conviction.
A retrial was abandoned as well over concerns for Higgins’ mental health, and Lehrmann, who was never convicted, has always maintained his innocence.
Now, in his first televised interview since he was accused of rape, Lehrmann told 7NEWS he hasn’t ruled out suing his accuser for defamation. Lehrmann also made the claim that “it would appear” he was framed.
“I don’t want to be known as the guy who could have, would have, allegedly raped Brittany Higgins,” said Lehrmann, speaking to why he’s motivated to bring the defamation action.
Lehrmann is currently suing Network Ten and Journalist Lisa Wilkinson for an interview on The Project where Higgins went public with her allegation in 2021. He’s claimed he was identifiable in The Project interview, despite not being named.
In his interview with 7NEWS, Lehrmann said many in his social circle distanced themselves from him after the allegations and that a picture of Higgins’ bruised leg, shown in The Project as well as during his trial, was “fabricated”.
Lehrmann was also asked about the conflicting reasons he’s given for going back to Parliament House the night of the alleged rape. He admitted to lying to security to get into the building.
Many people have been calling out Lehrmann’s Spotlight interview as hypocritical, considering he chose not to speak during his rape trial. Channel 7 has also been receiving much criticism for giving Lehrmann such a large public platform following the dropped case.
All the Incels & men’s ‘rights’ activists are glued to channel 7 programming tonight. It’s all their Christmases come at once.
— Marcella Brassett (@MarcellaBrasset) June 4, 2023
At Channel 7 News’ annual Young Achievers Award ceremony last week, one of the survivor advocates being honoured, Harrison James, called the news channel out over their decision to platform Lehrmann.
“If he wanted to speak, he should’ve done so at his own trial,” wrote James, in an Instagram post.
“With such poor form from @channel7 I decided to call them out on Friday evening for their double standards– on the same weekend they are giving awards to survivors for their work as advocates, they give airtime to an absolute monster.”
“I’ve never seen a more desperate attempt for viewership from a network– 7 is not only showing its disregard for Brittany, but for every survivor in this country. I am so truly sorry,” said James.