Bankrupt Brittany Higgins pictured at Sundance Film Festival during US trip – as lawyers for former boss Linda Reynolds issue stark warning
Brittany Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, have been pictured enjoying the limelight at a US film festival amid a warning that her participation in a featured documentary could cause legal strife.
The couple appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on Saturday, local time alongside the crew of Silenced, an Australian film about lawyer Jennifer Robinson’s fight ‘against the weaponisation of defamation laws to silence survivors’.
On the red carpet, Higgins wore a dress from Self Portrait, a London-based designer, estimated to be worth $770. Sharaz opted to spruce up his navy suit with a $450 silk knit tie from Ralph Lauren.
If the pair were feeling the stress of their legal and financial woes they successfully hid it from cameras at the American event.
Her former boss, ex-Senator Linda Reynolds, just a few months ago scored a defamation win against Higgins in court in August and pursued bankruptcy proceedings after Higgins couldn’t pay.
It has now been revealed Reynold’s lawyers warned Silenced producers ahead of the screening she could pursue a legal claim if they alleged that she had ‘silenced’ Higgins.
The former political staffer previously falsely claimed that Reynolds didn’t properly support her following her sexual assault and attempted a ‘cover-up’ to protect the Liberal Party ahead of a federal election.
A civil court in 2024 ruled on the balance of probabilities that Higgins was raped in Reynolds’ office in Parliament House by colleague Bruce Lehrmann in February 2019. Lehrmann has continuously denied the allegation.
Brittany Higgins (right) and David Sharaz (left) attended the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on Saturday
Higgins (right) attended the festival alongside the crew from Silenced
Higgins had been ordered to pay Reynolds $315,000, $26,000 in interest and 80 per cent of her legal bill.
Higgins was subsequently declared bankrupt in December.
The couple are now subject to strict bankruptcy rules, including limitations on earnings, owning vehicles worth more than $9,600, and international travel.
Bankrupt individuals are allowed to travel internationally, but they must surrender their passports to the trustee appointed to recoup the funds, and ask permission from the trustee to fly to other countries.
The Daily Mail understands Higgins and Sharaz were granted permission from their trustees to travel to Utah, in America’s Mountain West.
Silenced was based on Ms Robinson’s book, #HowManyMoreWomen, which detailed Higgins’ case alongside that of Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, and the lawyer’s own sexual assault claims.
Reynolds told Daily Mail she found it ‘astonishing’ that Higgins considered it appropriate to promote a film concerning her court matters.
In the statement, Reynolds said ‘it beggars belief that in circumstances where she has been bankrupted for failing to pay the Court ordered damages for defaming me that she can indulge herself’ in promoting such a film.
Higgins (pictured in Utah) was declared bankrupt after being sued by former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds for defamation
Linda Reynolds is seen leaving a Perth court in 2024 following a hearing for her civil case
‘It is a shame the important message of this film has been undermined,’ she said.
‘Two courts have now found that Ms Higgins made false allegations about how she was treated in her workplace after she was assaulted.’
Silenced is directed by Australian director Selina Miles and highlights the ‘personal cost and system bias shaping legal battles’.
A blurb on the Sundance website said: ‘After #MeToo broke the cultural silence on gender violence, international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson fights against the weaponisation of defamation laws to silence survivors.
‘Silenced reveals a global pattern: When women speak out, powerful systems move to discredit and punish them.’
The film premiered on Saturday, followed by additional screenings on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Along with damages and Reynolds’ legal fees, Higgins also faces paying back her own legal costs, worth an estimated $600,000.
It came almost three years after she landed a $2.45 million settlement following her civil case against the Commonwealth.
Silenced (synopsis pictured) premiered at Sundance on Saturday
Reynolds condemned Higgins’ appearance at the festival
That case was launched over the way her rape complaint was handled.
She was ‘diagnosed as medically unfit for any form of employment, and had been given a very poor prognosis for future employment’, according to her draft statement of claim.
More than half of the sum was in respect of her loss of earnings, while the rest was made up of medical expenses, legal costs and ‘$400,000 for hurt, distress and humiliation’.
The couple purchased a house in France using the proceeds of the settlement, of which she said she retained about $1.9 million.
Following the settlement, Higgins and Sharaz went on a series of holidays, rented a Gold Coast property for about a year, dressed in designer gear, bought a house in France and spent more than $100,000 on their Australian wedding.
She then sold her house in France to cover her legal costs associated with the defamation case, gave birth to her first child and relocated to Melbourne.
By the time bankruptcy proceedings commenced, the court heard Higgins’ estate was worth about $10,000.
