But the colleague he sued, Christie Whelan Browne, says she has been significantly traumatised by having her name dragged through the mud.
"I have received multiple threats and constant abuse and it continues to this day," she said in a statement.
McLachlan abandoned his lawsuit on Friday, two weeks into the NSW Supreme Court trial, just as witnesses were due to testify in the case against him.
He had sued the ABC, Fairfax and Whelan Browne over January 2018 publications claiming he harassed female performers in the 2014 stage production of The Rocky Horror Show.
His case finished on Thursday and the defence was due to start on Friday.
But Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson instead discharged the jury after being told the actor was not continuing with the case.
The award-winning performer was accused of touching, kissing and groping actresses without permission in the Rocky Horror stage production, Neighbours, City Homicide, and The Doctor Blake Mysteries
In his evidence, he agreed he had brought sexual jokes and pranks to The Rocky Horror Show, including deep-throating bananas, masturbating crew members' arms, kissing and grabbing them.
His barrister spoke of the "camaraderie" on the show and how actors dealt with stresses was different to other workplaces, while the actor denied the allegations made in the publications.
The actor and his wife, who had attended every day of the trial, were not present in court when his case was discontinued.
But in a statement he said the strain the case had put on him and his family had been utterly overwhelming.
"I cannot continue to place my family under that strain, and my own mental health will not withstand the continuing pressure," he said.
'"Ending the case now will finally bring to an end the four years we have endured since the publications were first made, as well as avoiding the need for other witnesses to have to endure the cross-examination process."
In her statement, Whelan Browne said she and other women came forward so other females would not have to endure the same behaviour they did in the 2014 production.
"| was then singled out and sued for defamation," she said.
"My name was dragged through the mud and my character and own behaviour was exaggerated and called into question.
"| had thought this kind of shaming was a thing of the past, but | was wrong.
"The past four and a half years have significantly traumatised me and the other brave women who spoke up at the time and afterwards."
During the trial, McLachlan's partner Vanessa Scammell testified her husband was "sucker-punched" by the articles, becoming a recluse, afraid to answer the phone and would surf at night to avoid being seen.
His barrister said the case was about a "double-pronged attack made on him by two powerful media organisations, while the outlets were defending the claims on the basis of truth.
Their barrister told the jury 11 women were expected to allege misconduct by McLachlan during the Rocky Horror production, and other television and theatre shows
In 2020, a Melbourne magistrate cleared McLachlan of indecently assaulting women during The Rocky Horror Show but described the actor as an unimpressive witness.
He was acquitted of seven counts of indecent assault and six of common law assault against four women during a run of the musical in Australia.
The magistrate described McLachlan's accusers as brave and honest, but it was not enough to prove the incidents amounted to assault.
In his statement on Friday, McLachlan also referred to being acquitted in the criminal trial.
"I look forward to restoring my health and spending more time with friends and family who have stood by me through this process."
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