A high-profile contestant of a reality TV cooking show has been accused of beating a woman with a metal spatula and throwing a burger at the back of her head.
Claudean Uamaki-Mu and her husband Anthony Michael Mu appeared on the 2023 season of My Kitchen Rules as a ‘fiery Italian and super chill Samoan’ pairing.
The couple have both faced court in the last year over serious allegations.
Mr Mu’s trial started in July over seven charges, including assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault and breach of privacy through observation.
He has pleaded not guilty to all of the alleged offences.
The trial resumed on Friday in Richlands Magistrates Court, with the defence calling a woman to the stand in defence of the reality star.
‘(Mr Mu) is a very quiet man, he very rarely yells. He talks to you in a stern voice but he’s not a yeller or a swearer,’ she told the court, as reported by news.com.au.
In July, a different woman who is a complainant in the case told the trial she was allegedly ‘tackled’ through a wall by Mu after she ‘rolled her eyes’ at him.
Anthony Michael Mu, who appeared on a reality TV show alongside his wife Claudean Uamaki-Mu, (both pictured) is on trial after pleading not guilty to serious charges including assault
Mu and his wife (pictured with supporters in April) had been protected by a court suppression order before the restriction was lifted during plea proceedings earlier this year
She claimed in court that she was beaten with a metal spatula on her hands, arm and knuckles.
He also allegedly threw a burger at the back of her head, grabbed her hair and screamed at her to ‘get the f*** up’, the court previously heard.
‘I couldn’t quite stand because he had the back of my hair in his hands. I slipped and fell … he dragged me by my hair,’ she said.
‘I believe he was still calling me a ‘disrespectful c***’.’
On Friday, the woman called by the defence and who had previously given a statement to police as a complainant, admitted there were ‘lies’ in it.
She also said complainants said ‘quite nasty things’ about Uamaki-Mu, but not Mu.
The court heard some comments included Mu’s wife being called a c*** and an a***ole, with the woman adding: ‘They would just say she’s a horrible person’.
She disputed allegations of Mr Mu being verbally or physically abusive and went as far as to claim one complainant made references to being able to ‘make a pretty penny off this whole thing if it got out’.
During their season of My Kitchen Rules, the couple called themselves the ‘Married Battlers’
During court proceedings, Mu’s barrister Stephen Kissick told the court his client had no case to answer in relation to the charge of observations in breach of privacy.
Magistrate Michael Quinn ultimately ruled in favour of Mr Kissick’s submission, adding: ‘In those circumstances, the defendant has no case to answer in respect of that charge.’
During their appearance on My Kitchen Rules, the couple called themselves the ‘Married Battlers’ before their time on the show was suddenly cut short due to the allegations.
The couple’s identities had previously been protected by a court suppression order handed down in 2023 but it was lifted in April this year.
Uamaki-Mu has pleaded guilty to six charges of common assault in May.
Lifeline 13 11 14
1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636