An astonishing photo where Bruce Lehrmann appears to snort a white substance off his dinner table was taken as a joke and is actually plain flour.
The image was captured at Mr Lehrmann’s Sydney home over the weekend and showed him holding a Chihuahua, also named Bruce, in one hand and a rolled-up five-dollar note in the other.
Two thick lines of powder could be seen on the table, apparently ready to inhale, with one line for Mr Lehrmann and one line for Bruce the Chihuahua.
A friend also jokingly held a five-dollar note in front of the dog’s nose.
On Wednesday morning, a punter tried to auction photos of the scene to the highest bidder.
However, Daily Mail Australia can now reveal the mystery substance was actually white flour left over from making home-made pasta earlier in the evening.
Mr Lehrmann then supplied another photo himself to prove it was a joke.
Pictured: Bruce Lehrmann with a Chihuahua, also named Bruce, posting for a photo in front of a line of white flour as a joke.
Pictured: A note that Bruce Lehrmann wrote as a joke, asking friends to leave their phones at the door
He told Daily Mail Australia the situation was ‘clearly’ a joke and was shocked someone had tried to sell the images to the highest bidder.
He said: ‘Very clearly this is a joke at the last few days of amateur reporting.
‘This has been an inappropriate invasion of my private life and a violation of my privacy.
‘Any direct or indirect insinuation that something nefarious was happening is grossly defamatory.’
Another photo shows a note that Mr Lehrmann jokingly penned, asking his friends to place their phones in a bowl upon entering his house.
It read: ‘Please deposit all electronic devices here. Bruce will take pictures with you for a nominal fee.’
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) was shocked that someone tried to sell the photos to the highest bidder
The photo was taken in response to a leaked video that surfaced earlier this week, showing one of Mr Lehrmann’s dinner party guests using a credit card to chop at something on a plate.
In the footage, Mr Lehrmann could be seen seated at the end of a table some distance from the man with the card and laughing.
He then shared a photo on Instagram, showing him with a group of diners at a table spread with food.
‘The family minus a couple cause we don’t wait when the food this good,’ Mr Lehrmann said in a caption.
Mr Lehrmann was accused by former colleague Brittany Higgins of raping her in Parliament House in 2019.
He faced a trial in 2022 but it was abandoned due to juror misconduct and was never retried.
He has always maintained his innocence.