Lisa Wilkinson has returned to the television for the first time since her infamous Logies speech delayed the trial of the man who is fighting a charge he raped Brittany Higgins.
The former breakfast show anchor, 62, blew a kiss to viewers as she appeared on the Today Show on Friday morning in a pre-recorded moment, paying tribute for the program’s 40th birthday.
‘A big piece of my heart with always stay right there with the Today show family and all the years we spent together at breakfast,’ she said.
Wilkinson’s comments were the first time she has been seen in public since June 19, when she made reference to alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins in a speech at the Logies.
Wilkinson had just won the award for Outstanding News Coverage, for her one-on-one interview with the former ministerial staffer in 2021.
The acceptance speech forced ACT Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum to delay the rape trial just days out from it’s scheduled start date of June 27 to avoid prejudicing the jury.
TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson (left) is pictured with former political staffer Brittany Higgins (right)
During her comments on Friday, Wilkinson took the opportunity to have a playful dig at former co-host Karl Stefanovic’s own Logies mishap.
In 2009, Stefanovic came to work the morning after the Logies still drunk, slurring his words and giggling at Wilkinson.
He later apologised for his controversial appearance, and admitted he was not ‘at my best’ after a night of partying at the Logies.
‘That fateful morning… the whole of Australia knew Karl had to be drunk if he was going to keep insisting live on air that I was beautiful,’ Wilkinson said.
‘I don’t miss the early hours or the sleep deprivation, but I do miss the people.
‘I thought to myself if I can last six months in this chair, I’ll be doing well. So to have shared that desk every morning for closing on 11 years is an honour I still pinch myself about.’
The former breakfast show anchor, 62, blew kisses at the screen as she praised the show in a pre-recorded interview which aired on Friday morning
On Friday, Wilkinson took the opportunity to have a playful dig at former co-host Karl Stefanovic’s own Logies mishap. In 2009, Stefanovic came to work the morning after the Logies still drunk, slurring his words and giggling at Wilkinson
Wilkinson was dropped from the show in 2017 – not long after she learned Stefanovic was making more money than her and asked for a pay rise.
During her final day on air, Wilkinson said she was ‘quietly fuming’ because ‘almost every interview was done by Stefanovic alone’.
‘I don’t know what compelled me but as I sat in the doctor’s waiting room, I sent an email to [her manager] Nick Fordham and [her husband] Pete FitzSimons,’ she wrote in her autobiography.
The email read: ‘Guys, I’m going to take a note of how the allocation of hosting roles go down between Karl and me in the coming weeks.’
‘Never know when I may need it as a record… This morning I didn’t have a single solo interview, and even the ones Karl and I would normally do together had been given to Karl alone. All I had was the ‘girls chat’ segment at 8.40. What is this the 1960s?’
Hours later, while shopping at her local Woolworths, she received a phone call from her manager Nick, who had finished a meeting with Nine’s CEO Hugh Marks.
He told her that she was ‘permanently off’ the Today show, and would never return.
Lisa Wilkinson (pictured during her Logies speech) mentioned an impending court case on TV
‘While this news of my dismissal was still probably hours from going public, the humiliation I felt at that moment was overwhelming,’ Wilkinson said.
After her exit, Marks publicly revealed that Wilkinson had asked for $2.3million, which would’ve pushed her well above Stefanovic’s salary of $2million. She disputes that sum.
Despite the messy exit from the program, Wilkinson said on Friday she looks back to her time on the show with fondness and has ‘many happy memories’ from that period of her life.
‘I left with so many cherished memories. From being called sugar tits by Sacha Baron Cohen’s general Aladeen to the constant breaking news of yet another Australian prime minister… I think we burned through six in my time.’
She ended her pre-recorded birthday message by blowing a kiss to the camera.
Wilkinson’s decision to feature in the 40th birthday episode could be a sign that she is ready to return to air after her Logies gaffe.
The Channel 10 star has taken an extended break from her on-air duties, missing a highly anticipated interview with Thor star Chris Hemsworth.
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
The program made no mention of the awards night at all in the days to follow.
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’.
Ten blamed media reporting for ‘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.
‘We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.’
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.
The ACT Supreme Court has set a new date of October 4 for the trial.
Wilkinson said on Friday she looks back to her time on the show with fondness and has ‘many happy memories’ from that period of her life
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum decided 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’.
She noted public interest in the case needed to die down before Lehrmann would have access to a fair jury.
Higgins’s Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold agreed with Justice McCallum’s decision, noting the 102-day delay was more generous than that given in similar cases.
Mr Drumgold warned Network 10, Wilkinson and the owners of Sydney radio station WSFM that they should no longer commentate on the trial.
The written agreement would also see the three parties agree that any future comments could be in contempt of court.
Mr Drumgold said if the undertaking were not made by Network 10, Wilkinson and WSFM then he would seek an injunction to stop future public comment.
