KEY POINTS:
It's fair to say, I bet Tony Veitch, 34, wishes right now he had not courted a life in the media spotlight. A life that saw him earn hundreds of thousands of dollars as a radio broadcaster, a sports news man, a TV presenter and a celebrity after-dinner
speaker.
Now the industry that he strove so hard to be a part of is voraciously dissecting and analysing his life bit by bit as he faces seven charges, including allegations of assault on a female and injuring with reckless regard.
As he walked from court yesterday vowing to fight and clear his name, he said he was devasted the investigation had become so public.
I bet he is. How humiliating it is for him and his beautiful bride Zoe, innocently caught up in her husband's past that has come back to haunt their new life together.
The $150,000 Veitch is alleged to have paid his former partner Kristin Dunne-Powell in compensation and the confidentiality contract between the pair were never meant to be revealed to the public. Neither was the alleged abuse. If he wasn't a famous face in the media with a pretty new bride, none of this may have come to light.
But it's all a bit late for that now, though. The whole sorry saga is set to be played out in court and on a very public stage. The media - Veitch's colleagues - will lap it up piece by piece, yours truly included.
Celebrity friends will be relied upon to show their support. Paul Holmes, who conducted an interview with Veitch in the Herald on Sunday over a month ago, may be called in to give testimony, as his taped encounter is likely to become evidence.
While the embarrassment and humiliation will need to be further endured by Veitch, his family and his victim, the former media star and his Queen's Counsel can take note from other celebrity justice cases in terms of litigation strategies: have a media trial by choice.
Let's face it, it's the ultimate defence. The accused takes charge and the police and the Crown Prosecutor's office appear to be unduly proceeding based on the accused's media standing. Well, that's the theory, anyway.
Stars and their spouses/friends/family members/agents race to release media statements to take some sense of control back and to protect their brand image and future earnings.
The celebrity publicist Max Clifford commented on a celebrity justice case in Britain, saying that unless the accused in question went public with a statement, he would have no control over the story until he did. Incidentally in that case, the accused was cleared of charges and later paid a fortune for a tell-all spread in a British tabloid. Is that what we can expect for Veitchy?
Kiwi DJ disses Kate Moss
You've got to give it to Zane Lowe. The Kiwi DJ based in London hails from the no-nonsense school of musos. Try-hard wannabes need not apply. So, when the 35-year-old DJ and television presenter was on the decks at Ibiza's Amnesia club last week, he wasn't in the mood for any hanger-on helpers, we hear, even of the A-list celebrity persuasion.
The Daily Mail reported that Lowe and his minders took exception to supermodel Kate Moss trying to get into the DJ box and instructed her to leave because "she was making a nuisance of herself".
How embarrassing for her ... yet, nothing new. Last year, she was booed off stage when she performed alongside her ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty and his band Babyshambles, and she was apparently banned from singing with current beau Jamie Hince's band the Kills at Glastonbury this year by his band mate.
Pasha Power
Ricardo Simich's inaugural Power party at Viaduct hotspot Pasha recently was a huge hit. Invitees were encouraged to come dressed evoking images of power.
Click here for photos by Norrie Montgomery.
Rachel Glucina