Geoffrey Rush’s defamation case begins

Geoffrey Rush told the judge hearing his defamation case on Monday he felt distraught and as though his head was filled with lead on seeing a newspaper’s publication of allegations he had behaved inappropriately toward a female co-star. The actor is suing the publishers of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper and its journalist Jonathon Moran over the articles published last year. He denies all the allegations, but the journalists are pleading truth in their defence. Documents presented in court by the defence say the allegations concern Rush’s behaviour toward his co-star Eryn Jean Norvill during a Sydney Theatre Company production of “King Lear” in 2015 and 2016. The documents allege Rush made lewd gestures in her direction, simulated fondling and groping her breasts, and regularly made comments or jokes about her involving sexual innuendo. Rush entered Sydney’s Federal Court alongside his wife Jane Menelaus for the start of the judge-only hearing. Later, he testified he was devastated when he saw the Telegraph’s first article last November — beside a headline of “King Leer” — while his wife and adult son were home. The actor said when the paper ran its second article he felt “distraught by the way the story was running off the rails and didn’t seem to reflect anything I experienced.” The hearing, scheduled to last 13 days, continues Tuesday with Rush expected to continue giving evidence.