New Zealand’s prime minister, John Key, has refused to apologise for his participation in a controversial radio stunt last year even though the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has found it deliberately referred to prison rape and trivialised sexual violence.
In December last year Key appeared on an informal interview on the Rock radio station, where he was asked to enter a cage and pick up a bar of soap – a reference to rape in prisons.
The radio host then quoted a line from the movie Deliverance, which the BSA found was another reference to rape.
The stunt angered many at the time, including Ken Clearwater from Survivors of Sexual Abuse New Zealand who said he found it “bloody appalling”.
“Rape is not a joke, full stop. Regardless of the gender of the victim. The psychological damage done to men and boys is the same as to women.”
On Thursday the BSA released its finding from an investigation into the stunt and concluded the segment breached broadcast standards and showed poor judgment.
When asked by the Guardian if Key would apologise for his involvement in the stunt following the findings, the prime minister’s spokesperson responded: “He didn’t know what was going to happen and didn’t pick up on the connotation at the time. We have nothing further to add.”
The authority has ordered owner Mediaworks to pay NZ$1,000 in costs, and make an on-air summary of the authority’s findings. But it has not instructed the radio station to issue a public apology, which it has the power to do.
The authority said in a statement: “Sexual violence is a serious issue which affects some of the most vulnerable people in society, including those who are incarcerated.”
This content went “beyond currently accepted norms of good taste and decency into something that was inappropriate and in poor taste, and would have offended many people”.
It added: “This was not an off-the-cuff or fleeting joke made on the spur of the moment. Rather, the gathering and use of props such as as soap, as well as quoting from the film Deliverance, in our view clearly required some forethought.”
