<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>341070</docID> <postdate>2025-03-25 15:48:14</postdate> <headline>Producer in Bruce Lehrmann TV tell-all sues Seven</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-341071" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20240405001927338677-original-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1111" height="741" /></p> <caption>Ex-producer Taylor Auerbach is suing his former employer Seven in the wake of a defamation trial. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Miklos Bolza</b> </span></p> <p><strong>Broadcaster Seven has been accused of defamation by a former producer who made sensational claims about the lengths staff took to secure a tell-all interview with Bruce Lehrmann in response to rape claims.</strong></p> <p>Taylor Auerbach alleges the network made disparaging statements ahead of his evidence during the trial for Lehrmann's failed case against a rival broadcaster.</p> <p>The ex-producer was allowed to give 11th-hour evidence in a defamation case by Lehrmann against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with Brittany Higgins.</p> <p>Auerbach said he discussed paying Lehrmann around $200,000 to appear in an exclusive interview on Spotlight, where he would publicly respond to Ms Higgins' allegations that he raped her in Parliament House.</p> <p>These negotiations took place even as a criminal trial against the former Liberal staffer took place in the ACT.</p> <p>Seven ended up paying for expensive dinners, hotels, massages and a golf trip for Lehrmann, as well as renting him a house in Sydney's Randwick, according to an affidavit by Auerbach.</p> <p>One invoice paid by Seven to Lehrmann for $750 was understood by the former producer to cover "expenditure on cocaine and prostitutes".</p> <p>Auerbach's Federal Court lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, is being run by high-profile defamation law firm Giles George.</p> <p>The firm's principal Rebekah Giles has previously represented clients like fugitive developer Jean Nassif, Olympic boxer Harry Garside, former attorney-general Christian Porter and ex-Liberal MP Andrew Laming.</p> <p>Lehrmann suffered a major defeat when his defamation case against Ten was dismissed in the Federal Court in April.</p> <p>He has been ordered to pay $2 million in legal costs to Ten while the network has agreed to cover $1.15 million of Wilkinson's bill.</p> <p>The ex-staffer has lodged an appeal of his defamation loss and continues to deny that anything sexual happened between himself and Ms Higgins.</p> <p>His 2022 criminal trial in the ACT was derailed due to juror misconduct, with prosecutors dropping the charges against him over fears for Ms Higgins' mental health.</p> </body>