McLachlan defence accused of ‘victim blaming’

GOLD Logie award-winning actor Craig McLachlan has found himself in the eye of a “complex storm” after being accused of sexual harassment and assault at a time where there has been “unprecedented public discussion” about sexual misconduct, a court has heard.

Justice Lucy McCallum said reports published on McLachlan’s alleged sexual harassment of three actresses addressed “the most difficult issue of recent times” – the “complexity and ambiguity of sexual and sexualised behaviour”.

McLachlan is suing the ABC, Fairfax Media and actor Christie Whelan Browne after media reports claimed he bullied, sexually harassed and indecently assaulted three female colleagues who he worked with during The Rocky Horror Show stage production.

He claims he was the target of a “smear campaign” and states the reports about sexual misconduct brought him into “disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt”.

Justice McCallum’s comments about the complexities of sexual misconduct allegations were made during a preliminary hearing in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.

During yesterday’s hearing, lawyers for Whelan Brown ac- cused McLachlan’s defence team of “victim blaming”.

As part of his case McLachlan claims Whelan Brown was dishonest about being offended by his alleged indecent assault because she often used bad language such as “c***” and posted lewd images of herself on social media.