Fitness guru Michelle Bridges has been subjected to the full glare of the media thanks to a recalcitrant automatic door, ironically as she attended court for an Apprehended Violence Order taken out on a paparazzo accused of intimidating and harassing her.
The celebrity personal trainer and television personality entered the witness box to give evidence during a court hearing into an AVO that police have sought to take out on her behalf against a young Sydney paparazzo, Liam Mendes.
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Michelle Bridges' AVO case in court
The fitness celebrity arrives at a Sydney court where she is taking out an AVO against a member of the paparazzi.
But first Bridges faced an embarrassing arrival at Sydney's Downing Centre on Wednesday morning.
The glamorous TV star and businesswoman donned dark glasses as she swept past a large media pack towards the court's automatic doors, only for them to refuse to open. This forced her to endure a protracted wait to be let in as the cameras surrounded her to document her discomfort.
The 21-year-old Mendes is fighting the AVO, which relates to two incidents involving Bridges which occurred in April this year.
The first involved Mendes and at least two other photographers photographing and filming Bridges, her partner and The Biggest Loser co-star Steve "Commando" Willis, their baby son and Willis' two young children together after they left dinner.
In video taken by Willis and played during the hearing, he can be heard arguing with a photographer and calling the pack "a bunch of scumbags".
"There comes a point when it's harassment," Willis can be heard saying in the footage.
"You're photographing my children without my consent ...You're not allowed to be photographing where we live," he continues.
The second incident, the court heard, involved Mendes allegedly following and filming Bridges as she shopped in Woolworths at Potts Point.
In his footage, which has been aired on A Current Affair, Bridges tells Mendes: "You're actually breaking the law".
"No I'm not, there's nothing illegal about it," Mendes says.
In cross examination, Mendes' defence barrister Ian Temby QC repeatedly questioned Bridges about the links between her high public profile and her ability to make money.
Mr Temby tendered a Women's Weekly magazine from February 2016 featuring Bridges and her newborn son on the front cover and what he described as a "highly sympathetic" and "oh happy days" story.
"You are anxious, are you not, to maintain a public profile?" Mr Temby said.
"I don't know if anxious is the correct wordage," Bridges responded.
"Does it suit your company purposes to maintain a high public profile?" Mr Temby continued.
"I think it comes with the work, it's my job," Bridges said.
"Why are you jibbing at my question. I'm suggesting to you, you seek to make that work a profitable one," Mr Temby went on to say.
"My career pays my bills," Bridges repeated more than once.
Mr Temby also questioned Bridges about the role of her communications and marketing managers, the business importance of her social media follower count and her willingness to be photographed on many other occasions, including on the red carpet.
Bridges agreed that she had not had any contact with Mendes apart from on the two dates related to the AVO.
She denied that she had ever arranged for paparazzi to be tipped off about her location so she could be photographed.
Bridges will continued to be cross examined on Wednesday afternoon.