Bruce Lehrmann has pulled out of a $110-a-head speaking event hosted by a prominent men’s rights activist following his crushing defamation defeat.
Bruce Lehrmann would headline a conference called “Restoring the Presumption of Innocence”, to be held at an unnamed location in Sydney’s Rushcutters Bay on June 1.
The event was organized by author and #MenToo advocate Bettina Arndt and sponsored by Mothers of Sons, a group of “ordinary women” whose children have been falsely accused of gender-based violence.
He promised to “challenge the groupthink that muzzles our cultural dialogue to expose the truth about what counts as justice in Australia.”
Lehrmann was going to be a star attraction, but Mothers of Sons confirmed on social media Tuesday that it canceled “in light of recent events.”
The move came just one day after Federal Court Judge Michael Lee found, under a civil standard, that he raped Brittany Higgins on March 23, 2019.
“In light of recent events, Bruce Lehrmann has decided not to appear at the Restoring the Presumption of Innocence conference,” the post said.
“He is being subjected to extremely aggressive persecution by the media and is concerned that his participation could threaten the audience, jeopardize this important event and distract from its main objective.
“ASF and Mothers and Sons have accepted their decision and will seek an alternative presenter, while ensuring that the Lehrmann case continues to receive appropriate attention at the conference as a powerful example of trial by media undermining the vital legal principle of the presumption of innocence.”
Lehrmann had sued Channel Ten and Ms Higgins for defamation over an episode of The Project in 2021, during which she first made her rape allegations in a television interview with Lisa Wilkinson.
He was not named in that broadcast but claimed friends and colleagues identified him as Ms Higgins’ alleged rapist.
Ms. Higgins made her accusations on television before she had finished filing a formal complaint with the police, and as a result, Lehrmann believed she had been denied the right to the presumption of innocence.
More to come