Tziporah Malkah was hospitalised two days after she posed for photos during a romantic Christmas romp with a now-former Channel Seven producer, an unearthed post shows.
The former model was dragged into Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case in the Federal Court in Sydney last week when former Channel Seven producer Taylor Auerbach got in the witness box and lobbed verbal grenades at the network and his ex-boss, Steve Jackson.
Mr Auerbach alleged Channel Seven’s Spotlight program had covered the costs of Mr Lehrmann’s fancy dinners, cocaine, and prostitutes in a bid to entice him into exclusive television interviews.
The network and Mr Lehrmann denied those allegations.
Mr Auerbach also admitted in court that he recently tried to distribute a topless image of Malkah without her consent, but said he did not know that it was illegal to do so.
The photo Mr Auerbach allegedly distributed showed a topless Malkah without sitting on a couch with Mr Jackson. The image was allegedly taken at her Kings Cross apartment on Christmas Eve in 2019, after Mr Jackson had interviewed her for The n newspaper.
Mr Jackson is not accused of any wrongdoing and maintains he left the apartment before Malkah and and Mr Auerbach were intimate together. Separate ‘highly intimate’ photos are believed to exist of Mr Auerbach and Ms Malkah from that evening.
Now, a Facebook post has surfaced showing that Ms Malkah took herself to St Vincent’s Hospital just two days later, on Boxing Day.
Tziporah Malkah (pictured in the 1990s) used to model under the name Kate Fischer
Pictured: A Facebook post by Malkah on Boxing Day 2019, two days after her romp with Taylor Auerbach
At 5.20pm on December 26, Malkah tagged herself at the east Sydney hospital on a Facebook page where she was using a pseudonym.
She wrote: ‘At emergency with [a friend].’
‘Overdid it this week. Too much stress, not enough proper food, and I hit the bottle.
‘Going to … aunties house in the new year for respite X.’
Following the revelations in court about her nude photo last week, Malkah referred the situation to NSW Police for investigation.
In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, Malkah alleged that she was the victim of revenge porn.
‘I reported a crime, the investigation is ongoing, so commentary is unhelpful,’ she said.
‘Police have not confirmed the status of any investigation and no charges have been laid.
‘I have never been anything but the victim of revenge porn. This should never have been about me or any other women.’
Earlier on Sunday, Malkah alleged to News Corp that she was collateral damage in Mr Auerbach’s ‘personal vendetta’ against Mr Jackson.
Taylor Auerbach is pictured outside court last week with his solicitor, Rebekah Giles
‘In this particular case, an individual with whom I was once vaguely acquainted, has decided to use images of me in his personal vendetta against a former male friend and colleague of his,’ sh esaid.
‘This is completely unacceptable.’
Other photos from the same evening – widely circulated in media circles – show Mr Auerbach and Malkah snuggling in bed together.
Back in 2019, Mr Auerbach had accused Malkah of sharing an intimate image and a ‘damaging’ video of him without his consent.
He alleged the material was shared on Facebook and Instagram on Christmas Day, about 24 hours after their intimate evening.
Mr Auerbach reportedly lodged a complaint with the eSafety Commissioner on December 27, 2019.
In his complaint, he reportedly said that he did not want action taken against her because he feared she was ‘so fragile/volatile’ that she may allegedly repost an intimate image.
In 2020, Malkah confirmed she had a ‘brief’ physical relationship with Mr Auerbach.
‘Yes, Taylor and I had a brief one-night thing. We had been acquainted for a while prior to that because he had been chasing me for a story,’ she said, at the time.
Tziporah Malkah (pictured in 2020) has lodged a police complaint against Taylor Auerbach over the topless photos
‘We got together. I took some pictures and posted them online, which he wasn’t happy about,’ Malkah is quoted in the newspaper as saying.
‘He asked me to take them down, which I did. He obviously didn’t want anyone knowing we got together. And to be honest, I never heard from him again after that. Which is a bit bewildering.’
Mr Auerbach admitted in court to ‘hating’ Mr Jackson, and is widely known to have backgrounded media outlets about his former boss, following the former Spotlight producer’s brief appointment to the role of chief media officer for NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
He released the topless photo of Malkah as part of that campaign, and swore four affidavits in in Mr Lehramnn’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
Under cross-examination by Mr Lehrmann’s barrister Matthew Richardson SC, Mr Auerbach denied suggestions that he wanted to give evidence to damage Channel Seven.
Mr Richardson said: ‘I want to suggest to you, Mr Auerbach, that you are here today to do as much damage to your former employer and former colleagues as you possibly can.’
The revelations were made last week during Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial
‘I strongly disagree,’ Mr Auerbach replied.
Mr Richardson then suggested Mr Auerbach was ‘prepared to lie’ in his plight to damage Channel Seven.
‘No sir,’ Mr Auerbach replied.
Asked if he particularly hated Mr Jackson, Mr Auerbach said: ‘Yes.’
Justice Michael Lee later noted that Mr Auerbach could be described as someone who ‘desperately wanted to do as much damage to his previous employer as he could conceivably do’.
However, the judge also noted that did not mean Mr Auerbach was not being truthful.
In court, Mr Auerbach also accused the Spotlight team of bullying and anti-Semitism, and alleged that Mr Lehrmann had leaked confidential material to the program.
Mr Lehrmann has previously denied leaking material to the program.
Following weeks of negative publicity, NSW Police announced it had reversed a decision to hire Mr Jackson.