Yumi Stynes still blazing a trail in Australian media despite the ugly attacks

Speaking for the first time since Ben Roberts-Smith lost his defamation case, Yumi Stynes opens up about online abuse, racial vilification and threats against her after she made a joke about the decorated war veteran 11 years ago.

Yumi Stynes opens up about her life in the spotlight.

Since bursting on to the scene as a host of Channel V, Yumi Stynes has always had the courage to speak out, but it has resulted in personal attacks against her, including racial vilification and threats of violence.

Is it a source of pride to know that you’ve paved the way for Asian-Australian presenters on television?

The feedback I got at [music TV station] Channel V back in the day was very much telling me that [I was making a difference]. And it wasn’t just from Asian people. It came from Indigenous people and black kids who were just glad I was there. Now, having had a 23-year career, it’s other people saying they used to watch me when I was a kid … One of my podcasts that I did with SBS, Seen, is about that very idea.

I’ve talked to a lot of people from minority backgrounds, people with disability, or people who look different, and sometimes just being seen is really good. But as we age into our power, we need to do more than just be seen. We need to actually activate our activism.

Yumi Stynes has been a trailblazer in Australian media. Picture: Stephen Chee/Stellar

Our actions can have an impact, and therefore we have an obligation to act. To support others. To be vocal and to not back down. To call sh*t out rather than just being like, “I’m the pretty Asian one, breaking down doors by just being here!” It starts to require a bit more than just showing up.

You’re certainly someone who does that, and at times that’s got you in hot water. Do you think you’ve been more of a target for vitriol because you’re an Asian woman?

In all aspects of my work, when I do speak out about anything, I think a lot of people do think that being a female, being small and being Asian means you have a little bit less of a right to say anything at all, to be seen and to have a voice. It’s so boring to talk about but for those of us who live it, it’s very real so we have to point it out.

To people like [Sudanese-Australian writer and broadcaster] Yassmin Abdel-Magied [who was vilified in 2017 for a social-media post calling for people to reflect on asylum-seeking detainees on Anzac Day], that definitely applies to her. Even people with real political power like Senator Lidia Thorpe. Who you are does affect how much you’re allowed to say and whether people take you seriously or not.

Yumi Stynes says who you are impacts how much you are allowed to say. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

You were targeted with hatred and death threats for making a joke about a photo of Ben Roberts-Smith in 2012. Knowing what has come out in court about the army veteran [who was found in a federal court civil judgement earlier this month to have committed war crimes during his service in Afghanistan], does that change how you feel about that chapter?

Not really, to be honest. Is there a sense of vindication in that your stance – that no-one is beyond reproach – has been proven? I think Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters have done admirable work as journalists [in their reporting on Roberts-Smith]. But I think a lot of nuance gets lost no matter how carefully I word things.

Yumi Stynes was targeted over comments she made about Ben Roberts-Smith. Picture: Steven Chee

Has anyone expressed regret about the way you were treated, and would you even want an apology?

Talking to Abdel-Magied on [Seen] was very much an unpacking of the experience of being in a pile-on, and that was very therapeutic.

At what point did you know you wanted a career in media?

It took me a long time to be honest with myself that it was what I wanted. I think I stepped around it for a long time and gave it the side eye because people like me didn’t get media jobs.

As far as I could tell, there weren’t many people who looked like me who were blazing the trail. I think it started during uni when I volunteered at a university radio station. That was a very safe place to make mistakes and be educated and get that breathless, “Oh my God, I can hear myself on radio” excitement out of my system … Then it took a few years of practising and believing that I deserve to be there to really come to realise that I’m a f**king great interviewer, and to settle into that power and own it.

Andrew G, Yumi Stynes and James Mathison back in the Channel V days.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 23 years since we first saw you on Channel V with the likes of co-host Osher Günsberg, (then known as Andrew G). What do you remember about that time?

Teaming up with Osher again on iHeartRadio has had me doing a bit of a trip down memory lane. And I’m like, far out, what a long and storied career of interviewing musicians, actors, authors and artists. It’s been pretty fun.

There was the time I had to interview the Foo Fighters. It was a big deal. Even then [in 2005], they were playing stadiums and the legacy of Nirvana [for whom Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was the drummer] was still very large in their histories.

They’d had a huge night partying. Our interview was meant to be at 12pm, but on the day they bumped everyone by four hours. And that meant my babysitter had bailed and I had to bring my girls [Anouk, then 3, and Dee Dee, then 2]. [Dee Dee] was always magnetically drawn to the alpha male in any room, so she walked straight up to Dave Grohl and sat on his lap. It’s on YouTube; it’s f**king hilarious. Here I am trying to treat this band with respect and do my job and I’m in this situation of visibly parenting. I have such a rush of pride and emotion when I think about it. What a thing for a young mum to [go through]. …

A lot has changed since you first worked with Günsberg. What has it been like

to reunite?

From a personal perspective, it’s been a real treat. During the pile-ons or relationship breakdowns, Osher was there. He was there when my first love Ben [Ely] and I split up. He’d call me and be like, “I’m driving on a freeway in LA, but I wanted to check if you were OK.” It wouldn’t matter if we hadn’t seen each other for six months, he’d just show that little bit of kindness and consideration. Gosh, I feel like crying.

Yumi Stynes reacts after being told by Andrew G. that she has got the job as a TV presenter on pay TV Channel V. Yumi was working as a chef at a cafe in Elsternwick, when the good news came. Picture: Bruce/Magilton

But he also showed something that can’t be faked and that’s an understanding of what it’s like to be in the public eye and having to broadcast when you feel like sh*t and people [think] they know what your love life is. He showed real sensitivity.

He was never a prick and I have nothing but a solid love for him. That translates now when we’re working. He’s used to being The Bachelor host or The Masked Singer guy. So, to be a two-header [when] hosting on iHeartRadio, I sometimes have to say, “Hey Osher, can you shut up for a sec”, because he will talk and talk. But, because there’s so much trust and history, he will absolutely take that from me.

Has he tried to recruit you into being on The Masked Singer Australia or perhaps even being the new Bachelorette?

[Laughing] It’s never occurred [to either of us about me being] a Bachelorette, but I can’t sing and I’m claustrophobic, so I couldn’t wear the mask.

Catch Yumi Stynes and Osher Günsberg in a new iHeartRadio collaboration from July.

Originally published as Yumi Stynes still blazing a trail in Australian media despite the ugly attacks