Katie Price had a heated showdown with her ex-husband Kieran Hayler's lawyer during his rape trial, accusing her of discrimination and attempting to slander her name. Hayler, 39, is accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016.
During her cross-examination at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday, Price accused Hayler's lawyer Arlette Piercy of "discriminating" against her and trying to "slander her name".
Court Exchange
"It was all wrong what he did. He's just a wrong'un, I know he's done stuff with the (complainant), I got the messages," she said. "You shouldn't turn this case against me. The real reason why we're here is what he's done to a child, not me. Are you calling me a liar?"
Ms Piercy replied, "I am," prompting Price to hit back: "I don't need to be here. You can see in black and white something's gone on. I won't have anybody call me a liar."
Hayler denies the charges and suggests his ex-wife had "launched a campaign" against him when their marriage ended and the allegations form part of this, the court has heard.
Background and Allegations
He was married to Price at the time of the allegations, before the couple's relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021. Price described allegations against her ex-husband as "disgusting".
Ms Piercy challenged Price, claiming she kept "going on about it" when she promised not to, to which Price replied: "Too right – it's disgusting. But I never went to the press, never. Never once went to the media about it, never once went to the police about it – that was (the complainant), not me."
Further Testimony
Also in the short cross-examination on Wednesday, Ms Piercy referenced "cocaine and booze benders", to which Price replied: "That's discrimination. Everyone knows I self-medicated on coke due to Kieran introducing it. You are wrong and trying to discriminate me. The press know it all because of my journey. I ended up in therapy and tried to kill myself twice. You're not going to slander my name. I don't care if you are a barrister, you are not going to slander my name like that. I don't need to sit here like a therapy session."
Price concluded giving her evidence from behind a screen over three days in the trial on Wednesday. Previously she denied being "angry and vengeful" towards her ex-husband, and denied any animosity towards him after a 10-month affair with their nanny.
Jurors heard Price had chosen the nanny because she "wasn't very attractive" and a "little bit overweight", in the hope that Hayler would not cheat on her.
Judge's Warning
On Tuesday, Piercy put it to Price: "You are angry and vengeful towards the defendant Kieran Hayler, you have evidenced a vendetta against him over a number of years." Price responded: "That is not true." When challenged by Ms Piercy on her view of her ex-husband, Price said: "I don't have any venom against Kieran, it was amicable when we split."
The court previously heard that Price messaged the teenage girl allegedly raped by her then-husband saying she had heard that Hayler and the girl had kissed and he had "tried it on" with her, adding later: "I will make you a little star." Asked in cross-examination about her use on occasion of the phrase "little star", she said: "That's a figure of speech." Asked what did she mean, she added: "I don't know, when she was 13 there's no agenda or nothing behind it. It's just a figure of speech."
Elsewhere on Wednesday morning, Judge Mark van der Zwart warned Price not to voice her beliefs about her ex-husband's behaviours with anyone else than the complainant during cross-examination. The warning comes after she told jurors on Tuesday there were "other kids that haven't come forward". The judge said to her in front of the jury: "When you're being asked questions today please would you not mention any beliefs you may have whether Kieran Hayler has behaved inappropriately with anyone else apart from (the complainant)."
The alleged victim is not part of Hayler or Price's extended families. The trial continues.
