‘Not the aggressor’: Andrew O’Keefe fights domestic violence allegations

The lawyer for Andrew O’Keefe has claimed the dumped Channel 7 star was “not the aggressor” and his partner “will have a lot to answer for” as the former host of The Chase Australia fights domestic violence allegations in court.

The 49-year-old was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning, when police were called to a unit in Randwick, Sydney, after reports a woman, now named as his partner Dr Orly Lavee, had been attacked.

He was arrested about 3.30am before being taken to Maroubra Police Station, where he was charged with common assault (DV). O’Keefe, the former chairman of domestic violence charity White Ribbon, has since been released on police bail and was due to front court on Thursday morning, however the television star did not appear.

According to a report in The Australian, the former game show host had sent through a medical certificate and was excused. Outside court his lawyer Claudette Chua told reporters she had sort a short adjournment “in circumstances where Mr O’Keefe has been unable to give full instructions”.

“I have had an opportunity to review the facts in the matter and I will say this; Mr O’Keefe is certainly not the aggressor in the situation,” Chau said. “And Dr Lavee will have a lot to answer for.”

The case was adjourned to February 18.

It comes just a few days after it was revealed O’Keefe was no longer an employee at Channel 7. “Seven is obviously very concerned to read the reports regarding Andrew O’Keefe,” a Seven spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday, news.com.au reported. “Seven has had a 17-year relationship with Andrew across a number of programs, although he is no longer with the network. As this is a police matter before the courts, we cannot comment further.”

The program hosted by Andrew, The Chase Australia, is not currently in production. It is produced for Seven by ITV Studios Australia, which is expected to resume filming soon, once a decision is made about a future host.

The television star has had a tumultuous few years following the breakdown of his marriage to wife Eleanor in 2017. In November 2019, it was revealed that the production of The Chase had been halted for the rest of the year, after host O’Keefe took time away from the show in order to focus on his mental health. Several months earlier, in April 2019, the television star took a break from filming the hit show to undergo treatment at a mental health clinic.