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The high-profile “dick pic” defamation legal tussle between Cate Sayers and her ex-husband, Luke Sayers, took a Hollywood turn on Monday when a former Academy Award nominee made a surprise appearance in the Victorian Supreme Court to clap eyes on the action.
Australian actor Rachel Griffiths, who earned an Oscar nod back in 1999 for her performance in the film Hilary & Jackie, and picked up an Emmy Award in 2002 for her work on the TV drama Six Feet Under, added some star power to the ranks of court watchers as she turned up to take in the proceedings in Melbourne.
Rachel Griffiths (left) leaving the Supreme Court with Cate Sayers (right) and Sayers’ lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou, on Monday.Nine News
Griffiths is apparently working on a potential new program on defamation, telling fellow interested observers she had come to the court for research purposes.
She sat in the second row taking notes, even at one point briefly taking her shoes off, and was super low-key.
Not so low-key, however, was her departure from the court building, when she walked out with Cate Sayers and her lawyer and was snapped by a waiting photographer and film crews.
Monday’s court action centred on an application by Luke Sayers, who was not in court, to have the defamation case brought against him by his ex-wife moved to a federal court, where the trial would proceed before a judge and not a jury.
Cate and Luke Sayers in September 2024 three months before the “dick pic” photo scandal erupted.Getty Images
Cate Sayers is suing her ex-husband for defamation claiming he wrongly blamed her for posting a photo of his penis to his X account in January 2025.
So, what was Griffiths doing there? Well CBD’s sources, speaking quietly as you’ll understand in the middle of a court case, say she is working on a drama project with the working title of Slander.
She will star in the production and is a producer. The project has been in development for two years and the script is being written. The show is fictional and not based on any real-life case (including the Sayers imbroglio).
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Griffiths, who had apparently never met Cate Sayers until Monday, will play a defamation barrister in the series.
She was at court to get her head around the court process and “get the vibe” of it.
Expect to see Griffiths popping up regularly in Melbourne’s court precinct over the coming months as she continues to research the legal world for her character and the show.
The fax of the matter
Apparently, Deputy Nationals leader Darren Chester had no idea his office was still charging taxpayers for a fax machine. Well, at least that’s what we were led to believe after we inquired about his bizarre $455 fax disclosure in last week’s MP expenses data.
The fax machine expense emerged as one of the quirkier charges disclosed in data released by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, in among a string of other esoteric line items, including Coalition MP Scott Buchholz and Bob Katter of Katter’s Australian Party spending more than $50,000 on flags between them.
When we reached Chester to ask him what on earth he has been using the fax machine for, he said he hadn’t sent a fax in some 15 years and was getting the thing disconnected.
Darren Chester has learnt his office still has a fax machine.Dominic Lorrimer
“Given I was first elected in 2008, I can only assume the fax machine was part of the original office set-up. We used to send media releases via fax when I started in the role, but it’s obviously redundant technology today,” he said.
“Most people contact my office via phone, email or social media, so I have arranged to get the fax line disconnected as soon as possible.”
Last week’s data dump covered the March quarter, which crucially includes two of the local flag market’s biggest dates: Australia Day and Anzac Day. Parliament’s biggest polyester patriots, at least by our count, were Buchholz, who spent $27,761 on flags over the period, followed by Katter, who spent $23,239 on flags of his own.
Katter didn’t get back to us on the expenses. But Buchholz confirmed our thesis: Australia Day, the start of the school year, and Anzac Day meant the Queensland MP had to restock. He told CBD via a spokesperson he makes “no apology for supporting and promoting the Australian flag” in his community.
Michelle Obama and her life lessons hit town
America’s former first lady Michelle Obama kicks off her whistle-stop Australian speaking tour on Tuesday in Melbourne, where she is going to tell fans how they can find strength, purpose and hope in uncertain times – or so the promotional blurb goes.
It does seem like quite the lofty mountain to climb in just 90 minutes.
Obama, who is described as a “global advocate” and “one of the most iconic, inspiring and compelling women of our era” on the tour information site, will appear at two 90-minute “In Conversation” events at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and, interestingly, tickets are still available for both.
Platinum tickets, which at $895 a pop will get you a front-row seat, nibbles, a copy of Obama’s book The Light We Carry, and a photo with her, have all been snapped up, as have the $445 premium tickets.
Former US first lady Michelle Obama.AP
But a check of the ticketing website on Monday showed seats in the $395, $195 and $145 (restricted view) categories were still available for the 12.30pm show and in the $245 and $195 categories for the 7.30pm show. ABC identity Annabel Crabb is hosting both Melbourne events. Sadly, CBD can’t be part of the fun – it’s a media free zone.
“Growth Faculty has been pleased by the progress of ticket sales and is looking forward to welcoming attendees across its Melbourne events this week,” Growth Faculty, the company bringing Obama to Australia, said in a statement.
After Melbourne, she will take her words of wisdom to Sydney for a sold-out show on Wednesday and another show on Thursday at the TikTok Entertainment Centre. Australian Story host Leigh Sales is in the hosting seat for the Sydney events.
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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
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