The Project: Lisa Wilkinson opens up about pressure on women after Logies Speech: rape trial saga

Lisa Wilkinson has reprised her role on The Project after leaving the country in the wake of the fallout from her Logies speech. 

The TV presenter secretly flew out of Australia to Los Angeles earlier this month after stepping back from the program in mid-June.

Wilkinson mentioned a court case while accepting the Outstanding News Coverage Logie award on June 20, leading a rape trial to be rescheduled. 

After more than four weeks away, Wilkinson returned to her post on The Project’s panel on Sunday night, where she opened up about the pressures on women ‘to have it all’. 

Speaking after a segment about women’s mental health, Wilkinson said women struggle with the desire to be perfect. 

‘I saw some information recently about the age at which a woman has her highest level of self-esteem. The age is nine,’ Wilkinson said.

‘When you consider that over the course of your life, your goals don’t really start kicking in until you’ve got out there in the workforce, your educating yourself, your having relationships.

‘So if our highest self-esteem is at the age of nine, we’re on a highway to nothing – and it’s that internal pressure to achieve perfection.

‘Women are particularly good at that.’

Hours before the segment aired, Wilkinson wrote on Instagram it was ‘great to be back’ on The Project after ‘a few weeks on the road in the US gathering a whole bunch of stories for the show’. 

Wilkinson stepped back from the program in mid-June amid controversy surrounding her Logies award acceptance speech 

The Australian previously reported Wilkinson would be spending time in Hollywood and New York to interview ‘musicians and A-list film stars’ for upcoming packages for The Project.

One of the pre-recorded segments for the show included an interview with Polish-born Australian swimmer Michael Klim.

According to the publication, Wilkinson was expected to remain in the United States until around mid-August. 

While overseas, Wilkinson kept her fans updated about her activities, sharing a picture of her with the former Olympian during their interview. 

Last week, The Project host shared a photo of herself outside The Hotel California in Los Angeles, announcing she will be working on interviews for the show. 

‘Plenty of room at the Hotel California! I’m here in the US for some very special @theprojecttv interviews. Can’t wait to share more…’ she wrote. 

Wilkinson shared a photo of her outside Hotel California on Instagram last week