Grace Tame has wished a cheerful birthday to Brittany Higgins and shared a gushing tribute to the “warrior” girl.
Ms Tame, a sexual assault survivor, shared a picture of her and Ms Higgins preparing for a photoshoot and interview with Marie Claire journal.
The pair had been pictured on the entrance cowl of the journal’s “Women of the Year” subject in November 2021.
In the picture, the pair regarded relaxed and are smiling in the direction of the digicam.
But Ms Tame wrote in her message to Ms Higgins that the image was “nothing like the reality of that day”.
“It was anxiety, distress, exhaustion, invasion of personal space, and a quarter of an hour spent in the bathroom decompressing afterwards at dinner. It was tears.”
In her transferring tribute to Ms Higgins, Ms Tame stated her pal was a “warrior” and “a national hero”.
“Over the past 18 months of getting to know Brittany Higgins, I have been moved by a person who is thoughtful and measured, who is reserved and self-effacing.
“I have been awed and floored by her intelligence, kindness, vulnerability and determination to keep fighting for herself and others.
“She has provided support, comfort and reinforcement for myself and others amid some of the darkest, loneliest times. She is indeed a light.”
Ms Tame additionally praised Ms Higgins for her response to nationwide scrutiny.
“rittany Higgins has taken every step of her excruciating journey under a microscope; with a nation breathing down her neck. This is no mean feat.
“I am not a judge or jury, but I am a person who has also walked repeatedly in the line of fire – often alone – and it is not for the faint-hearted.
“However, it is not for this reason that I stand with Brittany. It is simply because she is a decent human being. I stand with Brittany because I have compassion for her.
“Brittany Higgins is a national hero.”
Ms Higgins spent her twenty eighth birthday on Wednesday in a psychological well being clinic in Queensland.
She took to Twitter on her birthday to declare she is keen to take the witness stand in any defamation motion after former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann employed a number one lawyer to combat media shops for damages.
After prosecutors dropped a single cost of intercourse with out consent on Friday, Mr Lehrmann, who has at all times maintained his innocence, flew to Sydney to carry talks with defamation legal professionals.
He has employed Mark O’Brien, considered one of Australia’s most feared defamation consultants, to look at the prospects of authorized motion in opposition to a number of media shops together with Channel 10’s The Project.
No considerations notices have been despatched to this point, as legal professionals study a big quantity of media stories and public speeches during the last two years.
“Mark O’Brien Legal is performing on behalf of Bruce Lehrmann in relation to potential defamation proceedings over quite a few public statements, broadcasts, articles and social media posts regarding the lately discontinued prison proceedings in opposition to him,’’ the regulation agency stated in a press release.
The media hit record consists of the ABC over a call to broadcast Ms Higgins and Ms Tame’s appeareance on the press membership.
The trial in opposition to Mr Lehrmann was discontinued final week based mostly on her psychological well being.
