A former AFL club president's wife has accused him of shamelessly blaming her for a lewd social media photo scandal, in defamation filings released by a court.
Cate Sayers is suing her estranged husband Luke, a former Carlton Football Club president and member of its board, for defamation in Victoria's Supreme Court.
The allegations surround a statutory declaration written by Mr Sayers, which accused Mrs Sayers of accessing his X account, posting a photograph of her husband's genitalia in January 2025 and tagging a female executive at Bupa.
The document was sworn by Mr Sayers in the weeks after the controversial post, which was quickly deleted, as the AFL and Carlton conducted investigations because he claimed he was not responsible and his X account had been compromised.
Mrs Sayers has alleged her husband "shamelessly" published false information about her in the statutory declaration and blamed her for the post, according to new court filings.
She said the document contained private and false information about her sexual and medical history, mental health, private relationships and engagement with law enforcement.
This was done for the "improper purpose of presenting her as unstable, untrustworthy", Mrs Sayers alleged.
Exposing this information was "calculated for his own personal, reputational and commercial benefit", and damaged her reputation, she said.
"The information was used to present her as unstable, untrustworthy, erratic, mentally disturbed and/or as presenting a live risk to her own safety, and the health and safety of her own family," her statement of claim said.
"The information was calculated to convince the recipients that Cate was responsible for or participated in the posting of the X post."
Mrs Sayers further alleged the document requested police and/or the AFL not to interview her, which had removed any opportunity for her to respond to the allegations.
Mrs Sayers is seeking exemplary damages from her husband, as she claimed to have been "shunned and avoided" by people she knows in the AFL, Carlton, and others who knew the couple, ever since.
She accused Mr Sayers of breaching her confidence, which caused her to suffer "significant distress, hurt and embarrassment entitling her to an award of equitable compensation".
Mr Sayers is yet to file his defence with the court, and AAP has contacted his lawyers for a response.
He was president of Carlton from 2021 to January 2025, and stepped down after AFL integrity unit findings.
