Brittany Higgins explodes at Sky News TV reporter covering Bruce Lehrmann’s drunken text messages to his girlfriend: ‘Come on… keep picking cherries’
- Brittany Higgins has criticized a Sky News journalist
- She thought the smear coverage was a ‘cherry pick’
Brittany Higgins has publicly criticized a Sky News Australia journalist for her coverage of Bruce Lehrmann’s libel suit against two media giants.
On Thursday, the former Liberal staffer appeared in court as he sued Channel 10 and news.com.au for defamation over their March 2021 report in which Higgins alleged that an unidentified man, Lehrmann, had raped her in Parliament House in 2019.
Sky News senior reporter and commentator Caroline Marcus shared a link to her coverage of the court case on Twitter on Thursday night.
She wrote: ‘Bruce Lehrmann tells court he was ‘outraged’ by interviews by Brittany Higgins, The Project and news.com.au and wanted to ‘hit back’ against the media.
He told his then-girlfriend that he was “a pawn” in a “bigger political hatchet job.”
Ms Higgins took issue with Ms Marcus’ emphasis on Mr Lehrmann’s accusations of a “political hatchet job”, responding to the tweet with a reminder that News Corp, Sky’s parent company, is part of the demand.
Bruce Lehrmann appears outside Sydney Federal Court on Thursday with Caroline Marcus, reporting for Sky News (both above)
She said: ‘Do you realize that NewsCorp is also being sued? By her own claim, it means her own organization was part of this ‘political hatchet job’.
‘Also, I was a member of the Liberal staff and my partner worked at Sky News. I literally don’t understand this whole narrative.
Ms Marcus responded in what quickly became a tit-for-tat, telling Ms Higgins that “these are not my assertions, but rather a report of the court proceedings and what was said on the stand.”
At this point, Ms. Higgins’ initial response had racked up hundreds of likes and supportive comments.
Mrs Higgins replied: ‘Come on. Let’s reflect on his continued framing of this case in tweets from the criminal case.
“Keep picking cherries, but know that NewsCorp’s lawyers have put forward a defense of the truth.”
Ms Marcus replied: ‘Er yes, I’ve been reporting it all day’, to which Ms Higgins ignored.
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured, centre, on Thursday) was not named in the Channel 10 broadcast or in the news.com.au article, but his statement argues that his identity would have leaked out in political circles.
The comments Marcus was referring to in his tweet were made by Lehrmann to his then-girlfriend, Greta Sinclair.
Ms Sinclair was distraught by the extraordinary televised allegations.
He told the court on Thursday that he placated her by suggesting that his lawyer had told him he was a “pawn” and “part of a larger political hatchet job.”
During cross-examination, Mr. Lehrmann admitted to Ten’s lawyer, Matthew Collins KC, that his lawyer, Warwick Korn, never said that and that he made it up to comfort her.
Mr Lehrmann was not named in the Channel 10 broadcast or in the news.com.au article, but his statement argues that his identity would have become known in political circles.
Ms Higgins took issue with Ms Marcus’ emphasis on Mr Lehrmann’s accusations of a “political hatchet job”, responding to the tweet with a reminder that News Corp, Sky’s parent company, is part of the demand.
The interlocutory hearing on Thursday was about why it took him two years to file the defamation suit.
Applicants normally have 12 months after publication to file a defamation case, but Mr. Lehrmann’s case was filed two years later.
His lawyers argued that it was unreasonable for him to start the case earlier.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the broadcaster and the news website argued that he should not be allowed to sue for defamation because it was reasonable for him to file the lawsuit within the first year.
The hearing was adjourned until Thursday, March 23.
Ms Marcus responded in what quickly became a tit-for-tat, telling Ms Higgins that “these are not my assertions, but rather a report of the court proceedings and what was said on the stand.”
