![Former Seven network Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach outside the federal court in Sydney on Friday.](https://media.guim.co.uk/7455ea488c9125d7f3bc0405a91ae67e703dede5/0_230_5592_3355/1000.jpg)
Good afternoon. The reopened defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann against Network Ten continued today, with the federal court hearing further evidence from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach.
The court heard claims from Network Ten that Channel Seven paid more than $10,000 for massages, drugs and sex workers for Lehrmann’s benefit, and that Lehrmann initially discussed a $200,000 payout for his interview. Justice Michael Lee described the evidence as “sordid” and questioned why it was relevant to the case and his findings.
Auerbach continued to insist that Seven offered him a pay rise and promotion for his role in Lehrmann’s interview on Seven’s Spotlight program, after the company on Thursday denied in a statement outside court that it had done so.
You can follow our live coverage of the hearing here.
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What they said …
***
“He appreciated the fact that I wasn’t sitting with the rest of the feminazis in the press pack.” – Former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach tells court this is was Bruce Lehrmann had told him.
Auerbach was discussing his verbal agreement with Lehrmann for an exclusive interview with Spotlight while giving evidence during Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten.
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