Guy Sebastian settles with ex-manager Titus Day after years-long legal battle

The legal battle between Guy Sebastian and his former manager has finally come to a close as Titus Day acknowledging he made “a number of regrettable decisions”.

The Battle Scars singer had long worked with Mr Day, first at the manager’s former agency 22 Management before Mr Sebastian moved across to Mr Day’s new company 6 Degrees three years after winning Australian Idol.

Mr Sebastian parted ways with his former manager in 2017, and launched legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Mr Day the following year in 2018.

The former manager, in turn, filed a counterclaim against the Aussie pop star.

Mr Day faced two separate trials over allegations he embezzled thousands of dollars from Mr Sebastian.

In 2022, Mr Day was found guilty of embezzlement, but that verdict was overturned on appeal.

During a re-trial, a jury in the NSW District Court found him not guilty of four counts of embezzlement but were discharged after they remained hung on the other 31 charges.

The DPP decided not to pursue a third trial, and the remaining charges were dropped.

The Federal Court proceedings have now come to an end nearly a decade after they were launched, with Mr Day acknowledging he had made “a number of regrettable decisions” while managing Mr Sebastian and that a series of payments should have been made to the Aussie star.

“There were many instances in which payments that should have been passed onto Guy, were not,” Mr Day said in a statement.

“My management company’s failure to properly account for and pass on those payments to Guy was the result of my mistake. I accept that my failures at that time had a serious and regrettable impact on Guy and his family, for which I apologise.

“There is now an agreement in place to bring the legal dispute to an end.”

The Australian Idol star had previously tried to settle with Mr Day on what the former manager now regards as “incredibly fair terms”, with Mr Day stating he would “do things differently if I had my time again”.

“At an early stage in the dispute, I should have been more reasonable and less emotional, which I have no doubt would have led to a swifter and more conciliatory outcome. I take full responsibility for this,” Mr Day said.

“Looking back on the latter half of the time when I was managing Guy’s career, I can see that I had become a poor steward of Guy’s income, including income that my company continued to receive after Guy left my management company in late 2017.”

Mr Sebastian said he was prepared to “forgive” his former manager now that the matter had been resolved.

“I know this impacted a lot of people around me, but I believed it was something I couldn’t walk away from,” Mr Sebastian said in a statement seen by NewsWire.

“I never could have imagined the twists and turns this ordeal would take. With the accountability shown and the apology Mr Day has provided in his statement, I am prepared to put aside my claim against him, forgive, and move forward.”

Mr Sebastian’s lawyer, Mark Faraday, said his client “wishes Mr Day and his family better times ahead” in a separate statement.

Mr Day finally expressed his relief to be moving on from the dispute.

“I acknowledge and regret the impact that the ongoing dispute must have had on Guy and his family, including the impact of being a witness in the protracted criminal proceedings,” Mr Day added in his statement.

“I thank Guy for his willingness to discontinue the civil legal proceedings against me and allow each of us and our families to move on from this dispute.

“I look forward to moving on with my life now, and I am sure Guy and his family do as well.”