‘We owe her nothing’: Email reveals Buttrose’s fury at sacked presenter

A flurry of emails between former ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose and executives were presented in court during Antoinette Lattouf’s unfair dismissal case.

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose told executives a controversial presenter should come down “with flu or Covid” as an excuse to take her off the air, a court has heard.

The extraordinary flurry of emails circulating through the upper echelons of the national broadcaster were aired on the first day of casual presenter Antoinette Lattouf’s unfair dismissal case in the Federal Court on Monday.

Ms Lattouf was greeted on the steps of the court by a group of flag and banner waving pro-Palestine supporters, chanting for “justice for Antoinette”.

Inside, she told the court her posts on social media, which included “Gaza is being annihilated hourly” and a claim Benjamin Netanyahu was the “most far-right extremist” leader in Israel’s history, were only based on “fact”.

Under repeated questioning from the ABC’s barrister, Ian Neil SC, she conceded those posts, available on her social media while she was the stand-in presenter for ABC morning radio host Sarah Macdonald, could be perceived as “controversial” by some.

Her barrister, Oshie Fagir, said ABC managing director David Anderson took the “extraordinary step” of personally doing a deep dive into her posts following a “campaign” by pro-Israel lobbyists to get her “taken off air”.

Presenter and journalist Antoinette Lattouf arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney for her case against the ABC, she claims she was unlawfully dismissed after she shared a report alleging Israel was using starvation as a weapon in Gaza. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

In a surprise move, the trial began with Federal Court judge Darryl Rangiah granting a suppression order over the identities of the pro-Israel lobbyists to protect them from “vilification and harassment”.

Mr Anderson’s deep dive into Ms Lattouf’s posts resulted in him texting the ABC’s chief content officer, Chris Oliver-Taylor, they had an “Antoinette problem” because her posts were filled with “anti-Semitic hatred”.

At the same time, Ms Buttrose was receiving a barrage of complaints and sent her own emails demanding the Lebanese-Australian journalist be dismissed.

Presenter and journalist Antoinette Lattouf. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

“Has Antoinette been replaced? I’m over getting emails about her,” she wrote to Mr Anderson.

He replied: “Antoinette will finish up on Friday. It’s a managed exit given the situation. I can explain more tomorrow. Plan to respond to all those who have emailed on Friday afternoon.”

Ms Buttrose, who will give evidence on Friday, questioned that.

“Managed exit, really? ... we should be in damage control, not managed exits, David,” she wrote.

“Why can’t she come down with flu or Covid or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing.

“We’re copping criticism because she wasn’t honest when she was appointed.”

Mr Fagir said the ABC executives were on “the horns of a dilemma” because of the “phenomenal blowback” they feared they would receive for showing her the door.

“The reason they could not act was because she had done nothing wrong,” he said.

But on the third day of her five-day casual fill-in stint in December 2023, Ms Lattouf shared a post by Human Rights Watch that said it was “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war”.

She was called to a meeting and told she had breached the ABC’s social media policy and a “bespoke” direction given purely to her to not post on social media anything relating to Israel or Gaza.

Ita Buttrose pictured in North Sydney this afternoon. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Mr Fagir said at no point did the ABC bosses consult lawyers or human resources experts before ending her stint on air two days early.

“It is clear that Ms Lattouf lost her job, one way or another, as a consequence of a campaign against her because she has frequently spoken out about the conduct of Israel in Gaza,” Mr Fagir said.

The ABC, in its defence filed with the court, said Ms Lattouf was in breach of its policies and was therefore told not to present the final two programs she had been booked for.

It argued she had not been unfairly dismissed because she had been paid for the full week in accordance with her casual employment contract.

Mr Fagir said the presenter had suffered “reputational damage” and a loss of opportunity for future work as well as receiving death threats that led to her having to engage private security.

In one of her posts, shared in court, Ms Lattouf defiantly said that “as an independent and freelance journalist nobody can fire me so I will certainly be using my voice and sharing my concerns.”

In a video, she added that if any employers “don’t want to work with me .. then f*** them”.

Giving evidence yesterday, she ruefully conceded her posts were not strictly accurate.

“As I incorrectly said, ‘nobody can fire me’, and then I got fired.”

Originally published as ‘We owe her nothing’: Email reveals Buttrose’s fury at sacked presenter