Neighbors star Madeleine West shared a post describing herself as “grace under fire”, just hours after tearing up in court and outright denying she pushed her 75-year-old father-in-law into the mansion of the celebrity chef Shannon Bennett.
The post appeared on West’s Instagram page Tuesday night after his court appearance and cross-examination about an incident at the Byron Bay home of his former MasterChef guest judge.
West posted a reference to her busy life as a mother of six along with a black-and-white photo of herself wearing black makeup and wearing black.
In the post, she wrote: ‘I remembered…? Thaw the chicken tenders?… Pack the swim bag?… Bring the sheets off the line?… Sign the field trip form?… Finish the presentation?… Answer on time?… Smell the roses?… Have that coffee with my best friend? …Tell them I love them? …stretched? … eat? … breathe ?????? ‘
He then wrote ‘this is grace under fire’, perhaps a reference to Winston Churchill’s wartime quote that ‘courage is grace under fire’.
Madeleine West’s Instagram post just hours after she was questioned in the witness box at Byron Bay court about shoving her elderly father-in-law on chef Shannon Bennett’s estate.
The post was posted around 8pm Tuesday after the reality TV star left the witness stand and faced questioning by a police prosecutor over an apprehended violence warrant that police had taken to protect Benny Clifton Bennett on May 4 of last year.
Bennett, who is the grandfather of West’s six children with his son Shannon, alleges that she pushed him while visiting the chef’s compound, that he is afraid of the actress and needs protection.
West, who sometimes cried during the hearing, denied the allegations in Byron Bay Local Court on Tuesday, telling the court that he “did not lay a hand” on his ex-partner’s father.
Shannon Bennett and West were together for 13 years before they split in 2018 and revealed last year that their six children mostly live with him on his Byron estate.
West moved from Melbourne in 2020 and bought a house in nearby Suffolk Park last year.
The court heard that in the aftermath of the alleged incident, Mr Bennett said: “I can’t stand what she does”, referring to West’s behavior with his grandchildren.
The court was also shown CCTV video of West and Bennett at the Byron Bay estate while the MasterChef star was in the United States.
Former Neighbors star Madeleine West (above Monday) passed the tie on the witness stand Tuesday being questioned by police about security cameras of her arrival at her ex Shannon Bennett’s mansion last year and meeting his father.
Sergeant Val Short said the vision showed West arriving at the multi-million dollar home and hiding to lure Bennett to the door before pushing him and forcing his way inside.
In the footage, West can be seen arriving in a bright blue shirt and white shorts before a confrontation, after which she is seen leaving with a child.
In one video, West appears to be engaged in an animated conversation in the driveway, before putting her hand on the front door.
West denied hiding from the door camera, telling Sergeant Short that he had “stepped back so he didn’t look intimidating.”
But under a barrage of questions from the prosecution, the former TV star agreed that she was not welcome in the house that day.
“Mr. Bennett only opened that door so far to talk to you, he doesn’t open it to invite you in. He keeps you in line,” Sgt. Short told West in court.
West intervened saying, “I didn’t put a hand on him and I didn’t…use force, I’m a very skinny person.”
Madeleine West leaves court after a questioning by police prosecutors over allegations that she pushed her 75-year-old father-in-law Benny Bennett, leaving him scared and unwilling to risk any future encounters with the Neighbors star.
Madeleine West will find out next week if a two-year AVO for police is upheld against her on behalf of her ex Shannon Bennett’s father.
When told by Sergeant Short that he did not answer the question, West admitted, “He didn’t invite me in.”
Sergeant Short told West that CCTV footage showed a boy “almost running” next to him.
“You grab her arm… you’re almost pushing her with you,” the prosecutor said.
West responded, “I wasn’t forcing her.”
After the alleged incident in May last year, the court heard Bennett say he would no longer make such visits.
“I won’t do it anymore, I’ll just tell my son, at my age, it’s very stressful,” the court heard him say.
Benny Clifton Bennett, 75, “can’t stand what Madeleine West is doing” according to court documents about an alleged incident between her and him at Shannon Bennett’s home in Byron last year.
Madeleine Bennett (above with her former celebrity chef) is fighting police claims that she pushed Shannon Bennett’s father at the Masterchef judge’s Byron Bay estate in May last year.
‘I don’t want to put the children through for nothing. It affects them. I’ll only go up when Shannon’s here. I can’t be the meat in the middle.
However, West’s lawyers denied that Bennett was afraid of her, arguing that she was unable to care for young children.
“Here he is… a 73-year-old man, he can’t hear well and his mobility is slow,” a defense attorney said.
The court was told that West did not intend to be ‘confrontational’, and her lawyers argued that CCTV footage ‘clearly shows’ that West did not push Mr Bennett.
The prosecution is seeking a two-year domestic violence warrant against West.
The court heard that although West’s father-in-law lives in Victoria, he regularly visits his grandchildren at Shannon Bennett’s home in Byron Bay.
The hearing took place the day after West was photographed swimming in Bangalow, inland Byron Bay, and covering herself in “healing” mud.
Former Neighbors star Madeleine West at the Bexhill quarry on Monday afternoon, where she bathed and then covered herself in ‘healing’ mud in the reserve.
The model and actress spent up to two hours in the disused quarry in the Byron hinterland on Monday ahead of her court hearing on allegations that he pressured her to meet in law, making him fearful.
The hearing took place the day after West was photographed swimming in Bangalow, inland Byron Bay, and covering herself in “healing” mud.
She later posted a photo of herself with a muddy cleavage on social media with the caption “Is there anything more healing than some old-fashioned nonsense?” #mud’.
The model-turned-activist appeared at the pool in the middle of the afternoon in a denim minidress with a group of children.
Judge Karen Stafford adjourned the hearing and will deliver her decision on whether to grant the two-year AVO next week.
