‘Made up’: Shock new Marty rant emerges
Marty Sheargold’s controversial Matildas rant is not the first time he passed judgement on women, including one shocking claim.
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Further questionable on-air comments about women from now dumped radio host Marty Sheargold have emerged, including when he said endometriosis was “made up”.
Around one million Australian women suffer from the chronic condition which can cause severe pain and infertility. There is no cure.
Sheargold’s rapid axing from radio station Triple M on Wednesday followed comments he made live on-air on Monday when he said the Matildas reminded him of “year 10 girls”.
He then added he would “rather hammer a nail” through his penis than watch the Asian Cup before finishing off by asking if there were any “men’s sports” the presenters could discuss instead.
Later that day, Sheargold, who also stars in ABC hit comedy Fisk, said he and Triple M’s owner Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) had “mutually agreed to part ways”.
“I fully understand the gravity of my comments,” he said in a statement.
However, on Tuesday’s show, before the Matildas comments he made on Monday became widely reported, he made more cringe-worthy remarks.
‘It’s made up’
“I’ve done me back. It’s no secret over the last couple of days – I can’t hide it anymore,” he said on Tuesday.
“I’ve got a heat pack behind my back, which is very comforting and thank you to (executive producer Whitney Plowman) for bringing her period heat pack here because, God, don’t ladies carry on?
“Jesus Christ, there is no end of it. Honestly, endometriosis — and this is controversial …”
At this point in the show, one of Sheargold’s fellow hosts said “don’t do it” in an apparent attempt to stop the oncoming comment. A music track also increased in volume.
But Sheargold persevered.
“No, I’m going to say it. It’s controversial.
“(Endometriosis) It’s made up,” he said.
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue that usually lines the uterus – which under normal conditions breaks down and leaves the body each period – also grows outside the uterus.
There it doesn’t break down or leave the body. It can cause irritation and pain and potentially affect fertility.
Any treatment can only lesson the symptoms, not cure the condition.
‘Nothing funny’ about Sheargold
Former Triple J host Bridget Hustwaite, whose book How to Endo about her experience with endometriosis, said there was “nothing funny” about Sheargold’s comments.
“Imagine how those people feel hearing this?” she told PerthNow.
“He claims to be a comedian, but let me tell you, there is nothing funny about a disease that causes organs to stick together or about being told you may never have children.”
Ms Hustwaite said Sheargold was minimising the “very real pain” women go through with endometriosis, adding: “It’s 2025, we should not be providing a platform for such anti-women rhetoric”.
The Sheargold furore erupted on Wednesday after an on-air discussion on Monday between the host and co-presenters Troy Ellis and Will Ralston came to light.
Ralston mentioned the SheBelieves Cup, a tournament the Matildas are contesting in the United States.
“There’s something wrong with the Matildas,” Sheargold began.
“They had that wonderful tournament out here where we all fell in love with them, even though they didn’t make the quarters...”
For the record, the Matildas made the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, ultimately playing in the third-place playoff.
“You know what they remind me of? Year 10 girls,” Sheargold continued, as laughter rang out in the background.
“All the infighting and all the friendship issues, ‘the coach hates me and I hate bloody training and Michelle’s being a b****’.
“Now I’m sorry to undermine the whole sport, but that’s what I think of it so you can stick it up your arse.”
When Ralston later tried to keep the bulletin moving and mentioned the Women’s Asian Cup, which Australia is hosting next year, Sheargold responded: “Oh god. The Asian Cup.
“I’d rather hammer a nail through the head of my penis than watch that. Got any men’s sport?”
A host of athletes and sporting bodies, including Football Australia and the Australian Sports Commission, have hammered Sheargold over his comments.
Triple M, Sheargold part ways
On Wednesday, Triple M and Sheargold parted ways.
“Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) takes its responsibility to listeners, shareholders, and clients seriously and its programming should align with the standards and expectations of its audience,” the firm’s statement read.
“Right now, it’s clear this is a moment for reflection and review. Triple M, and the wider SCA network, will continue to take all necessary steps to support staff.”
The statement went on to “acknowledge Marty’s contribution over the past four years and we wish him well for the future”.
In the same statement, Sheargold said: “Having mutually agreed to part ways with the Triple M Network, I fully understand the gravity of my comments.
“I’d like to sincerely apologise to the Matildas and the broader organisation. I would also like to thank my immediate team for their hard work and apologise for the situation they now find themselves in.”
Georgie Tunny, a journalist and TV producer, was asked about the incident on Wednesday night’s edition of The Project on Network Ten.
Tunny, who has also previously worked with Sheargold, said she hadn’t been shocked by the host and actor’s comments.
“I like Marty. I know him, I’ve worked with him, and I think that he has been an excellent broadcaster for a long time.
“But there will be people out there who think that he has been hard done by with this, who laughed along with what he was saying, and to them I just say get a new sense of humour.
“Because if you are understanding and accepting the premise of his comments as humour or funny, then you are also accepting then that women (and) women’s sport (is) the butt of the joke, again and again and again.
She said she “wasn’t shocked at all,” by Sheargold’s comments.
“I’m so sick and tired of this kind of language. I’m so sick and tired of this vitriol. I’m so sick and tired of this ‘sense of humour’”.
Originally published as ‘Made up’: Shock new Marty rant emerges
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