EXCLUSIVE
The television journalist at the center of explosive allegations in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial has always loved the spotlight, ever since he was raised by his rocker mother.
Taylor Auerbach is back in the spotlight with explosive allegations of drunk and drugs, sex workers, $10,000 Thai massages and luxury accommodation for Lehrmann as part of her deal with Seven’s Spotlight show.
But Auerbach, 32, is no stranger to the rock star lifestyle.
Taylor Auerbach with her rocker mother Sharon, leader of Stone Cold Sober
Former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach admitted to his boss the day after spending more than $10,000 on Thai massages on a company credit card that the services had “nothing to do with work.”
His Stevie Nicks look-alike mother, Sharon Armstrong-Auerbach, is the frontwoman of south-west Sydney band Stone Cold Sober.
The band’s Facebook page describes the group as “rock with virtuosic, stinging guitar work from international guitar great Will Newton – Newcastle, UK.”
Auerbach is known to take the microphone himself, with multiple videos of himself performing classics from the ’60s and ’70s in karaoke clubs around the world.
Auerbach has a long history of finding himself in front of the camera.
He appeared on Nine’s Millionaire Hot Seat in 2009, when he became the show’s youngest winner, pocketing $50,000 when he was just 18 years old.
And he continued in 2010 as a contestant on the cooking show Come Dine With Me Australia, where he organized a dinner with a 1950s rock and roll theme.
He has also worked for several media outlets in New South Wales including Seven, A Current Affair, Sky News Australia, Daily Telegraph and, briefly, WhatsNew2Day Australia.
Auerbach is known to take the microphone himself, with multiple videos of himself performing classics from the ’60s and ’70s in karaoke clubs around the world.
But his most important role to date is the one he now plays in the Federal Court in Sydney, where he took center stage on Thursday and forced the reopening of the defamation trial with a last-minute intervention.
He filed an affidavit in Federal Court alleging he spent $10,315 on the network’s corporate card at Sensai Thai Massage “for the benefit” of Mr. Lehrmann.
However, just two weeks ago life seemed far from dramatic.
Footage of him singing Stevie Wonder’s For Once in My Life at the Covent Garden Hotel in Sydney’s Chinatown was shared on social media.
In early March, at the same pub, he took to the stage again to sing Elvis Presley’s 1969 hit In The Ghetto.
And he was also caught on camera in Hawaii, performing at the Cuckoo Coconut tiki bar in Waikiki, singing another Presley hit, Can’t Help Falling in Love, in September 2023.
Taylor (pictured, front left) with her mother Sharon, brother Rhys and stepfather Will Newton.
Sharon Armstrong-Auerbach (pictured, center left) is the frontwoman of south-west Sydney band Stone Cold Sober and stunt double for Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks.
Auerbach claims in his sworn statements to the court that he has evidence that Channel Seven covered Lehrmann’s luxury expenses, including $500-plus meals at Franca in Potts Point and lavish homes in exchange for being interviewed on Spotlight.
Auerbach, who left Seven last year, lost his job at Sky News Australia after details emerged about his role providing background information to journalists about Steve Jackson, his former boss at Seven’s Spotlight programme, as the company’s chief media adviser. New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
He admitted in court Thursday that he was behind the leak of a topless photo of a celebrity with Jackson after an interview five years ago.
He also leaked details of a dispute with Mr Lehrmann over the Thai masseuses’ credit card bill.
Lehrmann is suing Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over Brittany Higgins’ interview with The Project in which she alleged she was raped inside Parliament House.
Auerbach seen being harassed by journalists outside Sydney court
During the arduous five-week trial late last year, Lehrmann denied having sexual contact with Higgins that night and claims the network defamed him despite not being identified.
Judge Michael Lee was scheduled to hand down his long-awaited sentence on Thursday pending Mr. Auerbach’s further participation.
Network 10 was granted permission to reopen his case and hear new evidence from him about his involvement in securing two interviews with Seven’s Spotlight programme.
In a series of affidavits filed with the Federal Court, Auerbach claimed that Lehrmann provided the network with various evidence, including the AFP’s statement of facts in the criminal proceedings against Lehrmann.
Lehrmann has previously denied providing documents to the show, and the former political staffer testified during the defamation trial that he only granted the network one interview.