Cate Sayers has taken legal action against her husband, former Carlton president and PwC CEO Luke Sayers, alleging defamation and invasion of privacy. The case stems from a lewd photo posted on Luke Sayers' X account in January 2025 during a family holiday in Italy. The post, which tagged a senior executive of a major Carlton sponsor, was deleted after 15 minutes, with Luke claiming his account was hacked.
In court documents, Cate Sayers claims the AFL cleared her husband of wrongdoing within two weeks, accepting his statutory declaration without proper investigation. She alleges the AFL failed to interview her, examine Luke's phone or X account, or verify the medical reason he gave for the photo's existence. Her lawyers argue the investigation was not conducted adequately or honestly, and that the AFL worked closely with Carlton to exonerate Luke.
The statutory declaration, which has not been released to the media, reportedly contains defamatory claims that Cate accessed his account and posted the image, and that she suffers from mental illness. Cate's lawyers say there were 11 false claims in the declaration, including that she was raped as a schoolchild. Luke's lawyers maintain the declaration was true and required for the AFL investigation.
The case has also drawn in the AFL, with subpoenas issued for documents related to its investigation. Cate's lawyers claim the AFL's process was self-serving and opaque, failing to follow its own Respect and Responsibility Investigations Protocol. The court is expected to examine how the AFL handles internal investigations.
