A former Channel Seven employee hints at a tell-all book about his dealings with “a controversial figure accused of rape”, following his testimony in Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation trial.
Taylor Auerbach was one of the producers responsible for securing two exclusive interviews with Lehrmann on the network’s Spotlight program, which aired in June and August 2023.
During Lehrmann’s case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson last December, the Federal Court heard that the former employee’s rent was covered for a year in exchange for those interviews at a cost of around $105,000.
However, Auerbach came forward in April and claimed that Seven not only covered Lehrmann’s lodging costs, but spent thousands of dollars on cocaine, prostitutes and $10,000 worth of Thai massages.
The defamation trial was reopened in light of Mr Auerbach’s allegations, which Lehrmann and Seven have denied, and he was called to the witness stand to answer questions about his time at Spotlight.
On Saturday night, he took to social media to tell his 3,374 followers that artificial intelligence had given him a glowing review of the first chapter of his upcoming novel.
He has no editor, but describes his work as “an incredible story.”
Taylor Auerbach is pictured outside the Federal Courthouse in April. He was a producer on Seven’s Spotlight programme.
Bruce Lehrmann appears in an episode of Channel Seven’s Spotlight.
‘I’ve been writing a book!’ he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
‘I don’t have an editor, rather I’m having a chance to see if I can do it. Maybe no one but me will read it. And I’m just a bet in every way.
‘Fiction non-fiction? It would be foolish to say so.
Auerbach posted a screenshot of the first chapter, which looked more like a blurb and heavily alluded to his former bosses at Spotlight and Lehrmann, although he stopped short of naming them.
“The story revolves around a series of events involving a group of people connected to the media and political landscape in Australia,” the excerpt reads.
“Follows the interactions and dynamics between these characters, including a producer, government consultants, and a controversial figure accused of rape.”
The book also promised to explore issues of “media manipulation, power dynamics, and the ethical implications of reporting on sensitive topics,” along with the “consequences of personal and professional decisions.”
Auerbach also shared the overwhelmingly positive feedback he received from an AI chatbot, which described his writing prowess as advanced and coherent.
Taylor Auerbach posted an excerpt from her upcoming novel on social media Saturday night (pictured)
Taylor Auerbach also posted an excerpt from the first chapter (left) and a glowing review of AI (right).
‘According to this extract, the writer demonstrates a high level of competence in crafting detailed narrative prose.
‘The writing is coherent and fluid, maintaining the reader’s interest at all times.
“Overall, the writer’s competence appears to be advanced, with a talent for storytelling and attention to detail.”
The four people who commented on the post were encouraging, and three told Mr. Auerbach that they would “definitely” read the book.
His next social media post was at midnight on Saturday and did not mention the book.
It was a blog-style account of his quest to order McDonald’s from a Melbourne restaurant that only accepted delivery.
“The local McDonald’s won’t serve me at the counter, but they will accept Uber Eats orders, so I ordered Uber Eats from the local McDonald’s,” he wrote, with a selfie of him picking up his order outside the store.
Despite Auerbach’s explosive claims against Lehrmann and his former bosses in court during the defamation case in December, his evidence had relatively little impact on Judge Michael Lee’s ruling on April 15.
Lehrmann had launched defamation proceedings over an interview Brittany Higgins did on The Project in 2021, during which she told Wilkinson that she was raped by a colleague in Parliament in 2019.
A Federal Court judge found that Bruce Lehramnn had likely raped Brittany Higgins (pictured in blue) in Parliament House in 2019.
Lehrmann was not named in the broadcast, but sued over claims that friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Higgins’ rapist.
However, his case collapsed when Judge Lee found that Lehrmann had probably raped Ms Higgins in the way she described on television, to police and in two courts.
Mr Auerbach’s evidence led Judge Lee to accept that Mr Lehrmann had been “less than candid” in his recollection of how the Seven interview came about and the compensation he received from the network.
His testimony appeared to strengthen Judge Lee’s negative assessment of Lehrmann, who was branded at sentencing as a lying rapist, but also noted that Auerbach was motivated by resentment toward his former employer.
“This is a man who desperately wanted to cause his former employer as much harm as possible,” the judge said.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not telling the truth, but don’t portray him as some kind of noble, public-interested person who came to get something off his chest because he thought it would help His Majesty’s judges.”
“He is a man who wanted to make a series of accusations against people who enjoy absolute privileges.”
Auerbach left his job at Channel Seven last year to join Sky News. He is now self-employed as director of his own consulting company.