A Victorian court order allows former Carlton president Luke Sayers to seek documents be withheld as he fights his estranged wife Cate’s defamation action over last year’s “d**k pic” scandal. The order comes as text messages between the couple were put before
Luke Sayers will be able to ask for documents to be withheld as his legal battle with his estranged wife Cate moves forward.
In a court order. Sayers has been given the ability to seek that certain material be excluded from the proceedings in response to Cate’s defamation action. Cate has accused him of falsely implying she was responsible for posting a photo of his flaccid penis from his X account during the AFL “d**k pic” scandal that erupted in early 2025.
Her case also includes allegations that Sayers invaded her privacy, and that he falsely implied she was behind the publication of the explicit photo, as set out in court documents.
Sayers, who resigned as Carlton president shortly after the AFL cleared him of wrongdoing following an integrity unit investigation, says the situation was different from what was portrayed publicly. He claimed hackers compromised his account before his resignation.
The court’s latest development involves four parties: Luke Sayers. the AFL. Carlton Football Club. his adviser Sharon McCrohan. and an executive from his investment firm. Julie Trainor. Those parties will provide the documents to Sayers so he can decide which ones he wants to argue should be kept out of the case through legal professional privilege before they are reviewed by Cate and her legal team.
Legal professional privilege exists to prevent confidential material from being disclosed.
The AFL is also expected to claim privilege over some documents, with the matter now moving through the procedural step of determining what can be seen in court.
The timing of all this is sharpened by text messages that were exposed in an affidavit filed to the Victorian Supreme Court. The messages include an exchange on January 22 last year, when the couple were in Europe. It was the same day the AFL and Carlton cleared Sayers of involvement in the publication of the photo.
Cate’s message that day was direct. “Wondered why I just received a swuillion messages from people in oz,” she wrote. She continued: “Read the media … You are once again cleared – you looked after yourself well but your media people have left it on me – thanks.”
Sayers responded with a flat rejection of her interpretation of events. “Babe no no no … it couldn’t have been clearer in the statement,” he wrote.
Cate hit back at what Sayers believed was the message conveyed. She said: “Ffs read the statement. No. You didn’t say a hacker or an unrelated person to you had access. The world thinks I posted it. Thanks.”
The couple then argued over how Sayers used the term “unauthorised” in the statement he released when he stepped aside from Carlton. Sayers argued that “unauthorised” referred to a hacker. Cate rejected that framing, saying: “A hacker is a criminal you file a police report against.”
As the messages turned emotional, Sayers made an appeal to Cate to reconnect and return to how they saw the situation. “I have tried to call you. I love you,” he wrote.
He added: “It breaks my heart how you are feeling. Nobody we know thinks in any way you did it, that’s all that matters.”
Sayers also urged them to ignore the public noise and refocus on their relationship. “We must both ignore the media and restart as if it’s 2020. We are no longer in the public eye babe.”
When Sayers asked to meet Cate at a hotel in London, Cate refused. “No. I am furious with you. I need space. Find another hotel,” she replied.
For Cate’s defamation claim, those messages sit alongside her allegations that Sayers’ public statements falsely implied she posted the explicit photo and that he used language that left her exposed to public blame.
For Sayers, the case is heading toward a key battleground: what documents can be inspected and challenged publicly, and what can be kept confidential through privilege as his side prepares to contest Cate’s claims.
Luke Sayers Cate Sayers Carlton AFL defamation legal professional privilege Victorian Supreme Court d**k pic scandal X account Sharon McCrohan Julie Trainor