The wife of former Carlton president Luke Sayers has taken legal action against her husband, claiming that he had allegedly and falsely blamed her for publishing a picture of his penis on his X account in January 2025.
Earlier this year, a spokesperson for Cate Sayers confirmed that she had launched a defamation lawsuit against Luke relating to the widely publicised and controversial ‘d*** pic’ scandal that unfolded last year.
Mrs Sayers claims that she was defamed after Mr Sayers provided a statutory declaration to the AFL Commission’s integrity unit, during which he alleged that his wife was responsible for posting the lewd photo on his X account. The post had also tagged a female executive from Bupa, one of Carlton’s lead sponsors.
Mr Sayers had vehemently denied that he had published the photograph online. He was later cleared, following the investigation, but the former PwC executive chose to step down as the Blues president shortly after the AFL integrity unit released its findings.
In a fresh development, a writ, filed by Ms Sayers’ representatives in The Supreme Court of Victoria, was released on Thursday. It comes after it was revealed in April that the couple had separated.
In the document, Mrs Sayers alleges that her husband had ‘shamelessly’ published ‘knowingly false information about Cate’s personal history, health and general welfare for the improper purpose of presenting her as unstable, untrustworthy, erratic, mentally disturbed and/or as a live risk to her own safety and the health and safety of her own family’.
Cate Sayers, the wife of former Carlton president Luke Sayers (both pictured), is taking legal action against her husband
In documents filed in The Supreme Court of Victoria, Mrs Sayers alleges that her husband had falsely claimed in a statutory declaration that she had published a lewd photo of him last year
The document states that Mr Sayers had ‘owed her a duty of confidence to keep her private and confidential information private and confidential’.
Mrs Sayers, who is the founder and director of a not-for-profit organisation that provides fitness programmes for people with Down’s Syndrome, is now seeking damages. Mrs Sayers claims she suffered ‘significant distress, hurt and embarrassment, entitling her to an award of equitable compensation.’
In January, a representative of Mr Sayers told the media that the former Carlton boss ‘rejects the claims being made against him’.
The statutory declaration formed part of the integrity unit’s investigation into the matter. Following the investigation, the AFL concluded that Mr Sayers’ account had been ‘compromised’.
However, Mrs Sayers claimed in the court documents that ‘in using, publishing, disseminating or otherwise dealing with the statutory declaration, Luke engaged in an equitable breach of confidence to the detriment of Cate’.
Mrs Sayers has requested to see a copy of the statutory declaration Mr Sayers provided to the AFL as part of the claim.
During their investigations, it is alleged that the AFL did not speak to Mrs Sayers regarding the accusations that she had published the lewd photo on her husband’s X account.
The claim adds: ‘The conclusion of the AFL inquiries, the Carlton process, AFL media statement and Carlton media statement legitimised the statutory declaration and implied to the public in answer to the question begged above… that Luke’s evidence should be trusted and that his wife, Cate, posted the X post.’
The declaration was made as part of an AFL integrity unit investigation into Sayers’ ‘d*** pic’ saga
Mrs Sayers claims she suffered ‘significant distress, hurt and embarrassment, entitling her to an award of equitable compensation’
As a result of the matter, Mrs Sayers claimed that she had been ostracised from AFL circles and was ‘avoided’ by people she had held relationships with.
‘From shortly after the publication of the statutory declaration by Luke, and continuing thereafter, Cate has been shunned and avoided by persons she knew and had relationships with, who are involved with the AFL, Carlton, the game of AFL generally and others who knew Luke and Cate,’ the writ claims.
‘In using, publishing, disseminating or otherwise dealing with the Statutory Declaration, Luke disclosed and misused the private information and intruded upon the privacy or seclusion of Cate,’ it adds
Mr Sayers is also alleged to have disclosed information which claimed his wife had suffered ‘from mental illness (including bipolar and multi-personality disorder) and has been prescribed medication by her doctors, which she periodically refuses to take’.
The writ alleges that the former Carlton president, who had spent 12 years at the club, had also breached her confidence by disclosing information regarding Mrs Sayers’ ‘sexual history’ and ‘personal relationships with her family members’.
Mrs Sayers is understood to have learned of the ‘d*** pic’ via a close friend. The couple had both been in Italy at the time the image was published online. Mrs Sayers, according to The Herald Sun, was not staying in the same hotel as her husband and their two daughters when the image was published.
Mr Sayers is yet to file a defence to the defamation claim, but has appointed legal counsel to provide him with advice on the matter.
The father-of-four, who has more than 7,300 followers on X, had hastily deleted the post, but it had already been screen-grabbed by other X users and reposted online.
Sayers would stand down as Carlton president after the AFL released it’s findings which cleared him of any wrongdoing
‘Sorry, my account has been hacked, please ignore all posts,’ Mr Sayers wrote at the time.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he stated he had been ‘outraged’ by the attack and was ‘leaving no stone unturned in finding out who did this’.
After resigning as Blues’ president, Mr Sayers had also announced he’d be stepping back from his role as the chairman of his consulting company, Sayers Group.
The organisation has since rebranded to become Tenet, with Sayers listed as a director on the company’s website.
