Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson told a London court Wednesday that her ex-husband Charles Saatchi threatened to "destroy" her, if she did not clear his name, after the 70-year-old was photographed choking her outside of a London restaurant.
According to the Associated Press, Lawson was in court to testify against her two former personal assistants, Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who has been accused of fraud. The sisters deny embezzling money from the company credit card, while being employed to Lawson and Saatchi.
Lawson said she was reluctant to take the stand because she had been the focus of "bullying and abuse" from her husband. The couple divorced in July, after 10 years of marriage.
"I have been put on trial here where I am called to answer, and glad to answer the allegations, and the world's press, and it comes after a long summer of bullying and abuse," Lawson said. "He said to me at the start that if I didn't go back to him and clear his name he would destroy me."
Lawson accused Saatchi of "spreading false allegations of drug use" about her. In Saatchi's testimony last week, the art collector confronted claims made in an email he sent to Lawson about her alleged drug use.
Saatchi told the court that he never saw his wife use drug while they were married and that there was no evidence that she did. Saatchi said he was "utterly heartbroken" when his marriage ended.
The Grillos sisters are accused of using to the former couple's credit cards, which they claim was loaned to them by Lawson, to purchase luxury clothes and live a high-end lifestyle. The AP reported that Lawson considered one of the sisters her rock, helping her through her first husband, John Diamond, death and felt betrayed by her misbehavior.
"I loved Lisa. My children loved Lisa," Lawson said. "She came to me at a very difficult time and she was a rock. I would have done anything for her."
Lawson, who said the sister's behavior become increasingly bitter and unkind to her children, read a list of purchases made by Elisabetta and Francesca, including items from Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel, which Lawson said she did not approve.
"It's very difficult when you find out that someone you have loved and trusted could behave in that way," Lawson said, according to the AP reported. "In my heart of hearts I do not believe Lisa to be a bad person. But I believe her to have not a very strong moral compass."
Saatchi's lawyers also showed a list of the top 50 transactions made by the sisters, which totaled over $1 million, which Saatchi said he did not authorize either.
Defense lawyers claim Lawson abused illegal drugs like cocaine and marijuana. They suggested that Lawson let the girls do as they pleased, in exchange for silence about her drug use. Lawson has appeared as a judge on ABC show "The Taste" in the United States and is reportedly set to appear in the second season of the show due to air in January.
