Sexual favours for jobs still rampant in entertainment industry, says Susie Elelman

TV and radio host Susie Elelman has spilt the secrets on the entertainment industry in her new tell-all book, revealing the “casting couch” is still exists to this day.

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Veteran TV host Susie Elelman has revealed the “casting couch” is rampant within the entertainment industry and still exists to this day.

But the 64-year-old admits she had to exercise much caution in identifying the famous Australian and International men she has had encounters with over her more than four decades in the business.

Elelman doesn’t hold back with her new tell-all book — 15 Minutes of Fame: The Dark Underbelly of Celebrity. Inspired by the #metoo movement, Elelman included all names in the writing of the book but for legal reasons most were taken out.

Susie Elelman. Picture: Brett Costello

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“I named everybody in my book and the publisher chose to take names out,” she explained. “I was quite happy to back up what I said with absolutely everybody but my publisher was the one to decide who was to stay and who wasn’t. It was for legal reasons but also in some cases they figured it was more interesting if people try and figure out who it is.”

Rolf Harris is one of the men named in the book where Elelman details an incident with the controversial convicted paedophile.

“Rolf Harris took an opportunity to grope me. I was a guest greeter on the Tonight Show that WIN was doing and he was huge in those days. He was very touchy feely and preyed on our teenage work experience girl first. He would linger too long with touching. When I took him to reception and we said goodbye, he slid his hand down my back when he hugged me and pushed his hand into my crotch from behind.”

Elelman reported the incident to her bosses but didn’t take it further.

“Because it was what I would consider a minor groping in the sense he didn’t try and rape me, that incident with Rolf wasn’t anywhere near as serious as what I went through being sexually abused as a child,” she explained. “So I mentioned it to my bosses but it wasn’t enough to call the police and do anything about it. What were they going to say? He was such a serial predator I believe he knew exactly when to do it so he would be able to get away with it.”

Elelman’s new book, 15 Minutes of Fame.

The late Don Lane is referred to with Elelman recounting her approaching the TV star about an urban legend about his sexual penchants.

“One of them was about a glass coffee table,” she said. “When I asked Don face-to-face about it, when we were seated together at a Mo Awards, he didn’t confirm it and he didn’t deny it but ambiguously said he wasn’t averse to giving anything a go.”

Another high profile agent, who is now deceased, propositioned Elelman for a threesome with another female presenter who is still on television today.

“He was such a big wig in this business that he didn’t have to do anything for me,” she said. “He didn’t have to take me on as a client but if I wanted him to … he was charming and lovely … it was like if you want it to happen, then this is what you have to do for me. It was the casting couch and in his case he went one step further and wanted me to have a threesome. He was very charming but he laid down the law. I was in my 20s, back then there weren’t many women doing what I was doing.”

Elelman first rose to fame at the age of 18 after being crowned the youngest Miss NSW in the Quest’s history.

Her career highlights have included reading the nightly news on Channel 7, as well as filling in for Clive Robertson as host of Newsworld, working as a reporter on Good Morning Australia and a panellist on Beauty and the Beast. She also hosted her own national TV show, SUSIE, as well as an extensive career on talkback radio.

“The casting couch was huge. It does exist. It isn’t something that everyone talks about because we were all very frightened of losing our jobs so even if you didn’t succumb to the casting couch, you didn’t talk about because of that fear,” she said. “It is a term ‘the casting couch’, when you were put in a position where you would either gain a better position or in my case get a good agent if I delivered some sexual favours that were asked of me. That was the most blatant, other times you would get men being a bit amorous often after a long boozy lunch.”

Originally published as Sexual favours for jobs still rampant in entertainment industry, says Susie Elelman