Lisa Wilkinson stumbles over Jacinta Price’s name in race rant against the Coalition

The head of Channel 10 owner Paramount Australia has apologised to Jacinta Price after the Indigenous senator called comments about her in a recorded conversation between Brittany Higgins, Lisa Wilkinson and others “racist and derogatory”.

Channel 10 has apologised to Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after its star Lisa Wilkinson was caught out making disparaging comments about her.

Beverly McGarvey, the chief of 10’s owner Paramount Australia, called the senator to make the apology personally on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Jacinta Price called for an apology over what she described as “racist and derogatory” comments captured on a recording of a conversation between Brittany Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson and others in 2021.

Senator Price also called for the resignation of Katy Gallagher amid claims she misled parliament as to when she first knew of Ms Higgins’ allegations.

“Obviously they are derogatory and racist comments, but what would you expect from individuals that belong to the woke class,” she told Ben Fordham on the 2GB radio show on Friday.

Lisa Wilkinson (left) and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

“And especially Channel 10 I mean, Channel 10 (and) The Project have never been interested in the view of a conservative indigenous woman from outback Australia.

“They have not once demonstrated their interest in the concerns that I certainly raised.”

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Senator Price said she expected an apology from the Channel 10 network and Lisa Wilkinson.

“I would absolutely expect an apology from the 10 network, from Lisa Wilkinson herself, that would be the decent thing to do,” she said.

“I certainly didn’t get to where I am now without hard work, without the respect of my community, without outlining very truthfully the real issues that confront those marginalised individuals, those who are part of my family whose first language is not English, (those) who still live under cultural confines and who live in the remote communities that individuals like Lisa Wilkinson, in an ivory tower are far, far removed from.”

Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz. Picture Instagram

On Friday, Ms McGarvey personally called Senator Nampijinpa Price to apologise on the network’s behalf, Sky News said.

It’s understood McGarvey said the discussion of race did not reflect the values the network stood for and that it shouldn’t have happened.

The apology was on the network’s behalf but not from Wilkinson.

Senator Price’s comments follow the airing on Sky News of excerpts of a recording of a planning meeting between Ms Wilkinson, Ms Higgins, David Sharaz and The Project’s producer Angus Llewelyn in 2021.

At one stage in the meeting Ms Wilkinson appears to struggle with the pronunciation of the senator’s name and suggests her elevation to public office was tokenistic.

“(The Liberal Party) has preselected over 20 new and wonderfully diverse and strong female candidates like, and what’s her name Jacinta (inaudible). She’s an Indigenous woman.”

Mr Sharaz added: “well she clearly got in ... clearly it was a safe seat.”

Wilkinson: “That’s the thing. It was, and that was, as soon as I looked at it I thought, ‘oh, you’re joking’.”

Mr Sharaz: “It’s like, I’m not racist. I’ve got a black friend.”

Wilkinson: “And our cleaner’s black.”

Senator Price concluded the interview by calling for Katy Gallagher’s resignation.

“Absolutely she should be resigning, as she’s demonstrated she’s misled parliament,” Senator Price said.

“Not only that but in doing so, she’s actually… the way in which she has treated my colleague Linda Reynolds has absolutely been atrocious.”

On Channel Nine this morning Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles defended his colleague, saying Senator Gallagher was a person of “enormous integrity” who did not mislead parliament.

- Additional reporting by NCA NewsWire

Originally published as Lisa Wilkinson stumbles over Jacinta Price’s name in race rant against the Coalition