Lisa Wilkinson’s former Nine colleagues gave a ‘catty’ remark said before she gave Logies speech
It’s been five years since Lisa Wilkinson’s acrimonious exit from Channel Nine’s Today show amid claims of ‘pay disparity’ between herself and colleague Karl Stefanovic.
And it seems there’s still plenty of bad blood between Wilkinson and her former employers, following her controversial Logies speech about alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins two weeks ago.
According to The Australian Media Diary, Nine employees couldn’t hide their feelings towards Wilkinson during TV’s night of nights, with some even ‘groaning’ when she won her Logie for Most Outstanding News Coverage.
The VERY catty remark Lisa Wilkinson’s former Nine colleagues said about her before she gave THAT speech at the Logies has been revealed. Wilkinson is pictured at the 2022 TV Week Logie Awards
‘Reliable witnesses present have told us that there was an audible groan from key members of the Nine contingent as soon as Wilkinson was announced as the award’s winner,’ the publication reports.
‘Indeed, we’re told that one prominent Nine personality was heard to remark sardonically: ‘We’re about to get a sermon.”
Further, Nine has reportedly wiped Wilkinson’s controversial acceptance speech from its full Logies recording so that it can’t be viewed by the public in future.
‘Reliable witnesses present have told us that there was an audible groan from key members of the Nine contingent as soon as Wilkinson was announced as the award’s winner,’ The Australian Media Diary reports
Further, Nine has reportedly wiped Wilkinson’s controversial acceptance speech from its full Logies recording so that it can’t be viewed by the public in future. Wilkinson is pictured on The Project
Wilkinson rocky relationship with Channel Nine and her former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic has been well documented.
Tensions escalated late last year when Wilkinson released her memoir, It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This, which included a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Stefanovic over a pay dispute.
She claimed the pay disparity between her and Stefanovic when they hosted the Today show was once ‘so off the charts that no-one would have believed it’.
Wilkinson rocky relationship with Channel Nine and her former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic (right) has been well documented
However, it was later reported that Wilkinson had actually earned more than Stefanovic for years at the start of their on-air partnership, and it wasn’t until Seven tried to poach him that he was able to negotiate the bigger salary.
Wilkinson failed to mention this important detail in her memoir, instead focusing on the pay disparity during her later years at the helm of Today.
Wilkinson also recalled feeling frustrated and ‘quietly fuming’ during her last day on air because ‘nearly every interview that day was being done by Karl alone’.
Wilkinson, who co-hosts Channel 10’s The Project, landed in hot water two weeks ago after she mentioned alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins during her award acceptance speech – in front of about a million viewers. Wilkinson is pictured delivering her speech
However, The Australian subsequently disputed this claim after obtaining internal documents showing ‘an almost equal split’ between Wilkinson and Stefanovic’s roles ‘in the key segments and interviews’ during her last day on air.
Wilkinson, who co-hosts Channel 10’s The Project, landed in hot water two weeks ago after she mentioned alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins during her award acceptance speech – in front of about a million viewers.
Her comments forced the former Liberal staffer’s rape trial, which was due to start next week, to be postponed until October.
Australian Bar Association president Dr Matthew Collins QC (pictured) told Sunrise days after the speech there was a ‘serious possibility’ Wilkinson could be charged with contempt of court
Australian Bar Association president Dr Matthew Collins QC told Sunrise days after the speech there was a ‘serious possibility’ Wilkinson could be charged with contempt of court.
But hours after his comments on national television, Channel 10 hired the top barrister to represent Wilkinson.
Dr Collins is reportedly being paid $11,000-a-day to represent her.
But hours after his comments on national television, Channel 10 hired the top barrister to represent Wilkinson
Last week, Channel 10 hit back at the ‘unfair’ criticism of Wilkinson, and said it would not rule out taking legal action.
‘This reporting is now causing significant harm and we ask these organisations to cease this harassment to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner,’ a spokesperson for the network said.
‘We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.’
Last week, Channel 10 hit back at the ‘unfair’ criticism of Wilkinson, and said it would not rule out taking legal action. Wilkinson is pictured on The Project
Wilkinson’s speech contributed to delaying Higgins’s trial against former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann by prejudicing potential jurors. Lehrmann is accused of raping Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 and has pleaded not guilty.
He denies these claims and stated in a police interview that he did not have sex with Ms Higgins.
On Thursday the ACT Supreme Court set a new date of October 4 for the trial.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum decided on Tuesday to delay the trial ‘regrettably and with gritted teeth’ because ‘somewhere in this debate, the distinction between an untested allegation and the fact of guilt has been lost’.
A spokesman for Ten Network said they ‘fully support Lisa in her ongoing and full commitment to doing the right thing as a witness in the trial’.
Lisa Wilkinson (right) won a Logie for her television interview with alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins (also pictured)
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk