A sentimental Lisa Wilkinson attributed her unexpected resignation from The Project to a caustic and challenging six months.
The TV host delayed one of Australia’s largest rape trials unwittingly during a time when she was still coping with the fallout from colleagues and the public after her explosive tell-all memoir.
Wilkinson informed viewers on Sunday night that she is leaving the show and has to reprioritize her life following the rollercoaster of 2022, which included winning a Logie.
“I must be candid with you. The previous six months have been difficult, and the unrelenting media toxicity has taken its toll,’ she said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from immune to criticism. I’m human, and I don’t always get it right, just as none of us do, but by the grace of God I’ve tried.
Wilkinson, who has appeared on Australian television screens for more than two decades, stated that she had “interesting job ideas” but needed time to recuperate.
In honor of her retirement, here are some of the most memorable (and probably regrettable) moments from the TV veteran’s turbulent final year in the business.
The Logies debacle
Wilkinson won two wins at the Logies in June, one as a member of The Project’s team for Most Popular Panel or Current Affairs Program and the other for their interview with Brittany Higgins for Outstanding News Coverage.
The journalist met Ms. Higgins for the first time in early 2019 after the former political staffer went public with allegations that her colleague Bruce Lehrmann had raped her in the office of former Liberal minister of military industry Linda Reynolds.
The original trial date was set for June 27, but following Wilkinson’s victory speech, the court deemed it ‘unfair’ to continue the high-profile case in light of the public discourse around the case.
As a result, the court case was postponed until October.
The journalist chose to proceed with the speech, and Chief Justice Lucy McCullum criticized her in court.
Justice McCallum terminated the trial of Bruce Lehrmann last month after three and a half weeks after a juror brought study material into the jury chamber during deliberations.
The ACT Supreme Court is due to retry the case on February 20, 2023. Lehrmann has entered a not-guilty plea.
The tell-all memoir
In October of last year, Wilkinson made headlines with her explosive memoir, which included details of her tumultuous relationship with her former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic.
At the Logies in June, extra care was taken to separate the former co-hosts in the seating arrangement.
In late 2021, when Wilkinson published her tell-all memoir, It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This, tensions between the two increased.
Wilkinson said in her book that Karl, 47, gave her the cold shoulder in the weeks preceding her dismissal from Nine.
Karl and Jasmine Yarbrough were invited by her and her husband Peter Fitzsimons to their 25th anniversary vow renewal ceremony in late 2017.
The couple informed Peter two days prior to the event that they would not be coming since they had prolonged their overseas vacation.
“In the ten days following [the event], Karl, his co-host of nearly eleven years, had not contacted me at all. No phone call, no text message, no apologies, and not even a simple congratulations. Wilkinson claimed that there was perfect silence.
The journalist claimed in her memoir that her abrupt departure from Channel Nine occurred after she requested a pay raise to cover a major “gender pay gap” between herself and her co-host Stefanovic.
In an excerpt from her book, she writes: ‘I wasn’t even asking for Karl’s salary; I just wanted a somewhat more equitable share of the riches that had come from the Today show’s more profitable position in the incredibly lucrative breakfast TV market – especially now that we were number one.
We were a show with an annual gross of $60 million, of which considerably over half was profit. But the difficulty was the vast distance between Karl and me.
By remaining silent, I would be contributing to the perpetuation of the gender wage gap for every woman who followed me.
Wilkinson departed from Today in October 2017.
After she wanted equal salary with Stefanovic, it was widely known that the Nine Network was unable to match her demands at the time.
Hugh Marks, the then-CEO of Nine, stated that she had requested $2.3 million per year, which would have exceeded Stefanovic’s standard yearly salary of $2 million.
Five months after its publication, It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This was discovered in a K-Mart clearance bin for $6, a price reduction from its original $24 price.
The memoir was nominated for Book Of The Year (Biography) at the Australian Book Industry Awards, but did not win.
The comments regarding Sydney’s real estate market
In May, Wilkinson was accused of being “out of touch” after she criticized the government’s newest program for creating “financial agony.”
The project allows first-time homebuyers to use a portion of their superannuation as a down payment – an idea with which the journalist disagreed.
She informed then-Superannuation Minister Jane Hume, “Super is meant for retirement.”
Is it truly responsible to encourage young Australians to pursue short-term financial gain when they may experience long-term financial hardship?
Viewers accused Wilkinson of being “out of touch” because she had spent the majority of her life living in mansions in Sydney’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
She currently resides in Cremorne with her husband, the author and journalist Peter FitzSimons, in a multimillion-dollar property.
The couple formerly possessed a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with breathtaking harbor views in Mosman.
The photograph with a felon
In June, Wilkinson was photographed smiling with an infamous OneFour rapper who used a chair leg to attack a stranger in a pokies room.
After interviewing the rap group, OneFour posted an Instagram snapshot of the TV personality smiling and flashing the peace sign alongside rappers Spencer Magologo, Salec Sua, and Jerome Misa.
Misa, also known by his rap handle YP, was imprisoned in 2019 for a vicious attack on a pokies room, the specifics of which were revealed in court at the time.
Misa and former OneFour member Dahcell Ramos savagely assaulted three guys at the Carousel Inn in Rooty Hill, leaving one of them unconscious and covered in blood on the floor.
The picture of a margarita
In March, Wilkinson took herself out for a margarita on a Wednesday evening, and a photographer documented the event for a regular piece of celebrity reporting.
She became enraged with Daily Mail Australia about the article and referred to the photographer as a “creepy old man” whose actions were “threatening.”
This prompted the photographer who captured the images to write an open letter denying her claim that he had walked in front of her to take pictures.
In addition, he mentioned that she was visible to tens of thousands of people as she sat in the front window of a hotel on a potentially busy street in Melbourne.
The photographer also mentioned that he was ten years younger than her, but that making fun of anyone’s age was “demeaning… and insulting.”
He noted Ms. Wilkinson’s extensive coverage of the private lives of others, both on mainstream television and in her periods as editor of gossip magazines such as Australian Women’s Weekly, Cleo, and Dolly.
The shocking declaration
Wilkinson promised other prominent female journalists who had recently left their hosting positions a margarita on her as she announced her departure from The Project on Sunday evening.
I’ll see you at the bar if Leigh Sales, Tracy Grimshaw, and Carrie Bickmore are up for a drink. She paid for the margaritas, she said.
Wilkinson began by stating, alongside co-hosts Hamish Macdonald and The Bachelor’s Laura Byrne, “I’ve decided it’s time to reprioritize a few things in my life.”
And after nearly 15 years of waking up early for breakfast television and another five years at The Project desk, I’m considering how I want the next several years to unfold professionally and emotionally.
Therefore, as of tonight, I will no longer host the show.
Sitting at this desk and collaborating with this extraordinary crew – both in front of and behind the camera – has been an honor. These individuals are some of the most skilled and decent individuals I know.
“And you, our passionate and engaged audience, have made me feel so at home in your homes. I’ve had a great experience, but it’s time for me to make a change.
Wilkinson stated that the last six months had been difficult for her and her loved ones due to the “relentless targeted toxicity in the media.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from immune to criticism. I’m human, so I don’t always get things right, just as none of us do, but I’ve tried my best.
“I’ve given my all to this job, and I hope you at home know that. I hope I’ve brought you important stories and introduced you to people whose lives and experiences might not have otherwise been shared, as well as helped bring to light issues that deserve our collective attention.
“Thank you to everyone who has been so incredibly supportive and helpful, especially in recent months. You have no idea how much this has meant to me.