Sarah Hanson-Young has retained lawyers after sexist commentary about her was broadcast on a Sky News segment with fellow senator David Leyonhjelm.
Speaking on Channel Ten’s The Project on Monday evening, Hanson-Young said she had retained Rebekah Giles of the law firm Kennedys to pursue legal action against Leyonhjelm.
The Sky News political editor, David Speers, and many of his colleagues have condemned the airing of the remarks and the behaviour of the Outsiders program’s hosts, Ross Cameron and Rowan Dean.
Pressure is also increasing on advertisers to pull their support, while politicians, including Tony Abbott, have criticised Leyonhjelm for his comments.
The comments were completely unacceptable and should have been called out by Rowan and Ross at the time. There’s room for plenty of opinions, but basic human decency should come first. Sexism is never ok. I’m glad Sky News has apologised. I have also contacted @sarahinthesen8 https://t.co/OuMiwhmSdJ
— David Speers (@David_Speers) July 1, 2018
Owned by News Corp, Sky has apologised for the comments and the on-screen strap, and suspended the producer pending an investigation, but has not taken action against the two hosts. On Monday it put out a terse statement, saying only: “This is an internal staff matter. There will be no further comment.”
Leyonhjelm, a Liberal Democrats senator, made offensive comments about Hanson-Young’s personal life while defending what happened in the Senate last Friday – when he insulted Hanson-Young, saying she should “stop shagging men”.
In a statement on Monday morning, Hanson-Young attacked Leyonhjelm for his commentary on Sky and on 3AW Weekend Breakfast on Sunday, and called for him to resign.
“I believe he has proven himself incapable of showing respect and is unfit to represent not only women, but all decent Australians, in our nation’s parliament,” Senator Hanson-Young said in the statement.
“I will not be intimidated or bullied by offensive and sexist slurs on my professional reputation,” Hanson-Young said.
The comments Leyonhjelm made about her on these two shows, she said, were “reprehensible, hurtful and no woman, whether in public or the privacy of her home, deserves them”.
Speaking on ABC Radio Sydney on Monday evening, Leyonhjelm said there was no need for him to apologise.
“If she chooses to take offence, that’s her business,” he said.
“[The comments] weren’t intended to be offensive … I was discussing the issue of misandry.”
Pressed by host Richard Glover as to why he had attacked Hanson-Young personally, Leyonhjelm said: “I don’t accept the premise of your question that I’ve done anything to her.”
He denied he had discussed the Greens senator’s sex life.
“You’ve got a fertile imagination. All I did was point out she’s got boyfriends,” he said.
Sky’s advertisers, including Qantas, are being tagged on Twitter and asked to withdraw their advertising dollars from the channel in protest.
GIANTS: Can you provide ANY advertisers for Sky News & the show Outsiders in particular.
— Sleeping Giants Oz (@slpng_giants_oz) July 1, 2018
We plan to #AdShame every one of them and @SkyNewsAust.
No woman deserves to be #SlutShamed even on a grubby little pissant show like the outsiders#auspol #MeToo via @egirrrlie pic.twitter.com/ES57ORYTLm
The Walkley award-winning Speers said the Outsiders hosts should have condemned the comments about the Greens senator at the time.
Angelos Frangopoulos, the chief executive and managing editor of Sky News’ operator, Australian News Channel, has yet to comment publicly on the scandal or discipline the Outsiders hosts.
Cannot believe the producer gets to carry the can for this on-air exchange. Are you serious? https://t.co/Lg4AYA8kET
— Annabel Crabb (@annabelcrabb) July 2, 2018
Former prime minister Abbott said it was a tacky comment and Leyonhjelm should apologise.
“Leyonhjelm goes on Sky News on the weekend and in a very smug and self-righteous way repeats the damn thing,” Abbott told 2GB.
Speers was joined by presenters Janine Perrett, Ash Gillon, Kieran Gilbert, Laura Jayes and Chris Kenny in expressing their disapproval.
I value the contribution @sarahinthesen8 makes to political discourse & have expressed to her my dismay over her treatment. It's not on.
— Ashleigh Gillon (@ash_gillon) July 1, 2018
Kenny, the associate editor of the Australian, said in an editorial on his program that it “wasn’t a good look” to have those comments on the station and the two presenters should have reacted immediately to Leyonhjelm.
"Sarah Hanson-Young is dedicated to arguing for what she believes will better our nation. Agree or disagree with her policies and arguments on how to get there, that’s fine. But Senator Hanson-Young deserves respect and sadly today she wasn’t shown that... 1/2
— Kieran Gilbert (@Kieran_Gilbert) July 1, 2018
The federal education minister, Simon Birmingham, also called on Leyonhjelm to publicly apologise for his “appalling” comments.
“I would expect that apologies would be the appropriate order of the day,” Birmingham told Sky News on Monday. “Frankly, people ought to be a little bigger and better than that.”
You deserve better than that @sarahinthesen8 .... as a parliamentarian, as a woman, as a human being.
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) July 1, 2018
And we wonder why women aren’t immediately attracted to a career in politics? 🤨
But Leyonhjelm, who recently called Channel Ten’s entertainment reporter Angela Bishop “a bigoted bitch” for saying his slur was pathetic, is unrepentant.
.@AngelaBishop won't even listen to @Joe_Hildebrand explain the misandry. What a bigoted bitch. #ldpau https://t.co/KltzsvsXr4
— David Leyonhjelm (@DavidLeyonhjelm) June 30, 2018
A petition calling on Qantas to stop showing Sky News in its departure lounges and on its aircraft has already received over 4,000 signatures.
“Why is a public company that prides itself on inclusion and Australian values paying to spread this nonsense?” the petition says.
“Qantas passengers have no escape from it. The airline must immediately cease its commercial relationship with Sky News and choose either a news organisation with a belief in the tradition of fairness and balance, or just play cartoons or something instead.”
A spokesman for Qantas said there was no change to its arrangements with Sky. “We note that Sky has apologised and is investigating,” he said.
