Bruce Lehrmann’s former media adviser attempted to negotiate a deal in which Channel Seven would pay the former employee $280,000 for a series of exclusive interviews… along with a ten per cent commission and a share of advertising.
The network’s Spotlight program reached a deal with Lehrmann last year for two television interviews about his ordeal after Brittany Higgins accused him of raping her in Parliament in 2019.
He was not paid cash for the episodes, which aired in June and August, but Seven agreed to cover his rent for a year at a cost of around $105,000.
On Monday, Federal Court Judge Michael Lee concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins.
As the sentencing was handed down, Lehrmann’s former media advisor John Macgowan revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that he originally met with Spotlight producers and tried to extract almost triple that amount from them.
‘He “The only fair outcome is for Judge Lee to order Seven to pay me 10% of the originally proposed 280,000 plus a point on the back of advertising that could have prevented this whole matter,” he wrote.
John Macgowan is pictured, left, with Bruce Lehrmann.
Bruce Lehrmann appears in an episode of Channel Seven’s Spotlight.
Macgowan told WhatsNew2Day Australia he didn’t go ahead with his original offer because Spotlight didn’t appear to have the budget.
He was not part of the negotiations when the deal was signed last April, but he has no regrets about passing up the opportunity.
“I didn’t get anything, but it’s a good thing because if there’s one thing this case has shown, it’s that anyone who tried to profit from this has been scarred,” he said.
“It’s the Lehrmann curse.”
Three of the lead actors in Spotlight’s interviews with Lehrmann, including producers Mark Llewellyn, Steve Jackson and Taylor Auerbach, have left the network.
Auerbach gave evidence in April during Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
He claimed Channel Seven had also spent about $10,000 on cocaine, prostitutes and lavish dinners for Lehrmann in an attempt to entice him into doing the interviews.
Lehrmann and Channel Seven have denied those claims.
Steve Jackson, left, and Taylor Auerbach, right, worked together on the Bruce Lehrmann interview.
The court then released text messages showing Macgowan had initially suggested Seven pay Lehrmann $200,000 for the interviews.
That suggestion was made on October 21, 2022, during a meeting with Auerbach and Macgowan, when Lehrmann was still on trial for rape.
After the meeting, Auerbach texted his then-boss, Mr. Jackson, saying: “Bruce wants to do a big exclusive interview at the end of this (assuming he’s found innocent) and then move on.
Macgowan asked how much the network would offer, but Auerbach said he was hesitant to make an offer without speaking to his superiors.
The $200,000 sum was presented because Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce’s then-lover, Vikki Campion, received $150,000 for her Channel Seven interview in 2018.
According to Mr. Auerbach, Mr. Macgowan said, “Okay, that’s fair.” I know what Vikki Campion got (he’s very good friends with Vikki), so he would have to be there and adjust for inflation.
“So we would be looking at $200,000.”
Brittany Higgins (right) and David Sharaz (left) leave a court in Perth in March.
Lehrmann’s criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court was thrown out in 2022 due to misconduct by a juror.
The sexual assault charge was then dropped by the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, who cited concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.
She then launched defamation action over an episode of The Project that aired in February 2021, during which Higgins first aired her rape allegations in an interview with Lisa Wilkinson.
He was not named in that broadcast but claimed friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Ms Higgins’ rapist and launched defamation actions in a bid to clear his name.
However, that plan collapsed on Monday when Judge Lee found that Lehrmann was likely to rape Ms Higgins.