Following his acquittal for murder in the death of Warriena Wright, Gable Tostee‘s first substantive statement on the events of that fateful night will air this evening on 60 Minutes.
It is rumoured that the current affairs program paid somewhere in the vicinity of $150,000 for the interview, beating out rival Sunday Night, in a move that has been criticised by some as chequebook journalism.
Reporter Liam Bartlett spent three days on the Gold Coast with Tostee, his lawyer and his parents, and ahead of the broadcast, he has offered his own thoughts on the interview.
It emerged on 60 Minutes that Tostee’s younger brother has legally changed his name, while his father, who sells carpet, has removed the surname from from his business card, going by two first names instead.
Bartlett says that, in his view, Tostee agreed to the interview to take some of the pressure off his family. He said:
“He wouldn’t have sat down full stop for whatever reason if he wasn’t feeling the pressure … His family are under enormous stress as well. So that comes back to him thinking, ‘Hell, I better do something about this for the family, I better try to get people to see me as less of a monster.’ A huge part of his motivation is to explain his behaviour to people. He most certainly understands that he’s perceived by a lot of people as a bit of a monster because of what’s gone on in this case.But he genuinely doesn’t understand why people would think he was a bad person if they knew all the facts.”
Wright’s family were approached to take part in the story but declined, and Tostee himself has not made any attempt to contact them, per the wishes they have made clear. Per Bartlett:
“He said he would like to be able to express remorse to them but got no other word from the Director of Public Prosecutions office other than that the family had expressed that they wanted him to stay well away.”
Tostee, who infamously met Warriena Wright on Tinder, is currently in a relationship with New Zealand woman Lizzie Evans, and says he has no plan to use the dating app ever again. Bartlett explained:
“I asked him if he would ever use Tinder again and he said no … He’s very happy with his new relationship. He said she’s been 100 per cent supportive and that all seems to be going smoothly.”
Tostee’s 60 Minutes interview airs tonight at 8.30 on Nine.
Source: Courier Mail.
Photo: Supplied.
