The former Carlton president and his partner have been locked in a legal battle over the intimate image posted to X in January. Mr Sayers has denied responsibility for the post that tagged a major Carlton sponsor with a picture of his penis last January, saying he was in the shower at the time. He has previously alleged that a day after the incident, Ms Sayers said words to the effect of “let’s see how you get out of this one”. Mrs Sayers denies posting
the picture, claiming she wasn’t staying in the same hotel as her husband at the time it was posted. Despite being personally absent from court, Mr Sayers is seeking to have the case moved to the family court division of the Federal Court which could impact on reporting of the trial while Mrs Sayers, who attended court in an eggplant suit, wants a trial to be heard in the Supreme Court. Barrister Matthew Collins KC for Mr Sayers told the court “the publication of the
X post is a defamatory action against him [Mr Sayers]” and that “in the days following the publication of the post, Mr Sayers was the subject of significant media attention”. The AFL conducted an inquiry into the publication of the X post which ultimately cleared Mr Sayers of any wrongdoing. She also claimed a statutory declaration made during an investigation into the X post defamed her and the court was told on Monday that damage caused was “Australia-wide”. The photo was deleted from social media
15 minutes after it appeared. Monday’s proceedings come after Ms Sayers issued subpoenas for both Carlton football club and the AFL, the Herald Sun revealed last week. Supreme Court justice Andrew Watson temporarily closed the court on Monday morning while the barristers for Mr and Mrs Sayers argue if the trial can continue in open court. Judge Watson had previously ordered the live stream be turned off after Mr Collins argued the increased social media and public attention of the case could be a complicating
factor. “We don’t want to exclude the media from being able to report,” he said. However he did express concern for members of the public who may not be familiar with the law. Originally published as Luke Sayers and wife Cate battle in court over ‘dick pic’ scandal trial
Luke Sayers, Cate Sayers, Carlton Football Club, AFL, defamation, Supreme Court, social media scandal