Sky News Australia has admitted a failure of editorial process allowed a guest to deliver a highly offensive diatribe against Islam while wearing a shirt festooned with raw bacon rashers.
Introducing the UK-based man as a “social media sensation”, Sky News host Freya Leach sat mute while Ryan Williams called Muslims terrorists and explained he “wore” bacon to protect himself from alleged threats of beheading.
Most of what he said on live television on Sunday night is too offensive to repeat, but Williams has said online his intention is “to inflict maximum damage on Islam”.
He was one of the guests on Freya Fires Up on Sunday night, a relatively new show on Sky News Australia, a rightwing channel owned by News Corp Australia.
A spokesperson for Sky News Australia said the program “took immediate action during the live broadcast to cut off the guest” and Leach quickly apologised to viewers. “The content was not republished on any of our platforms.”
“We recognise the harm such rhetoric can cause and take full responsibility for this failure in our editorial processes,” the spokesperson said.
In 2018 Sky News sparked outcry after it invited Blair Cottrell, a far-right extremist who has expressed his admiration for Hitler, for a studio interview to discuss immigration.
Despite not being posted online by Sky, the Williams video has spread and many of his followers have congratulated him for the stunt, with one posting “All hail the bacon cloak!!”
The far-right identity known as Tommy Robinson posted a segment of the interview on X, referring to Williams as a hero.
Sky News said Williams was asked for his reaction to the Charlie Kirk assassination, but he should not have been invited on the program at all.
“We have begun an immediate review of the program including our guest booking and vetting procedures to prevent this type of incident from occurring again.
The appearance of Williams on Sky News Australia was first reported by the Age.
Williams told his Instagram followers he expects to be arrested for hate speech.
Leach, a young conservative woman who appeared as a guest on the ABC’s Q+A program during the voice referendum in 2023, promised her show would provide “takes on headline stories in Australia, as well as global events”.
She also co-hosts Sky’s the Late Debate on week nights. After the diatribe she countered Williams by saying “the majority of Muslims don’t support that”.
“We have seen here in Australia at least we’ve got some great moderate Muslims, but I think it’s up to them to condemn the elements of the culture or religion that are more extreme,” she said.
Leach is the director of youth policy at the Menzies Research Centre and is a former Liberal candidate for the seat of Balmain.
