Don Burke denies sexual harassment allegations in statement

FORMER Burke’s Backyard host Don Burke says he is “deeply hurt” after shocking allegations from more than 50 people emerged.

DON Burke made the following statement on November 26 to the ABC and Fairfax following the publication of serious allegations from more than 50 people.

I am deeply hurt and outraged at the false and defamatory claims made in your correspondence. It is evident that these baseless claims concern statements from a few ex-employees of CTC Productions who bear grudges against me.

I also believe that this publication is opportunistic and intended to severely damage my reputation, by trying to link my alleged behaviour with the appalling behaviour of Harvey

Weinstein, which has gained a lot of media traction.

I loathe the reported behaviour of Mr Weinstein and hope that the legal system deals with him in such a way as to prevent this happening again. The bitter irony is that I have had a lifelong opposition to sexism and misogyny, Burkes Backyard was a lone bastion of anti-misogyny from its inception in 1987.

This was evidenced by me deliberately choosing many women to be regular presenters on this program who were them because they were the very best in their field truly outstanding women like Densey Clyne, Rosemary Stanton and Jackie French (who was awarded Senior Australian of the Year a few years back).

These women, in Jackie French’s own words, were not the typical media females aged under 30 and with Barbie doll figures and Don faced considerable opposition to having them on prime time TV.

They were there because they deserved to be there. The media has never appeared to notice this anti-misogyny.

Even the most cursory of glances at BBY should have evidenced this obvious fact.

For the record, in this matter, I believe I am a classic sitting duck.

I created the program BBY. I became executive producer of it and was co-director of CTC productions, the company which made BBY. I am a sitting duck because I was also the main presenter of this eponymously-named program This is almost unheard of in the television world.

I largely ran the program and oversaw the hiring and firing of employees. Inevitably, this led to me being involved in the dismissal of some employees who underperformed or who behaved in an improper manner.

Accordingly, there would be a small number of these ex-employees who still bear a strong grudge against me. It is evident, that you have obviously been dealing with these ex-employees and as indicated above, you need to do proper screening and background checks in order to publish an accurate report of events.

I absolutely dispute the claims of bullying, and wish to point out that BBY was a prime time TV show where excellence was essential. If even one or two employees in the BBY team were below standard, this could lead to the cancelling of the program and the loss of the jobs of about 40 people.

This is the nature of prime time TV. So yes, there was pressure on each and every member of the BBY team to perform at a high level. My perfectionist management was the prime reason for BBY lasting 18 years on prime time TV.

These untrue claims will inevitably destroy my ability to perform my extensive charity work such as my 25-year plus association with Retina Australia (youth blindness).

It will also destroy my association with Asbestos Awareness where for over 10 years I have tirelessly worked to save the lives of renovators and tradespeople.

I am also associated with charity work of the department of Concord Hospital and many other charities and community groups.

These untrue claims will also destroy my income for the rest of my life. I have solid relationships with Scotts Australia, Celebrity Speakers, and many other groups. Already these mischievous claims have led to some thousands of dollars of cancellations of appearances.

Now, I respond to the specifics of these intentionally destructive claims:

— The rooftop incident never occurred either then or to any other female ever.

— The Alice Springs story never occurred, BBY did not take researchers when filming and I can find no record of this event. No such inappropriate behaviour occurred with anyone and no such video has ever been sighted by me. I did not and would not show anything like that to anyone, male or female. No foot pushing or similar episode ever occurred and no comments concerning not working out ever occurred.

— My staff and I regarded the CTC productions workplace as being a very safe workplace and I am very happy to provide female and male witnesses to affirm this.

— The story about the reporter quoting me is a total fabrication. BBY’s long-term receptionist is a dear friend of mine and no such words were ever uttered by me.

— I never commented on the body shape of any family member.

— No payouts were ever made, nor were any complaints of this nature ever received by me or anyone in his company. I also was never informed of any complaints or payouts by Channel Nine.

— Lastly, it is very evident to me that (Tracey) Spicer has fallen into a small clique of malcontents who were ex-employees of CTC productions. They must have referred her to others in this clique.

When Ms Spicer spoke to people who refuted what the malcontents were saying, she appeared to dismiss what they said it seemed clear that she had made up her mind before contacting them.

She had her “Weinstein” headline and nothing was getting in its way. This is unfair and unworthy journalism. I enclose records of interviews from ex~employees who were contacted by Ms Spicer. All are highly ethical people who would never tolerate behaviour such as you have alleged.

Jackie French was a reporter on BBY and was Senior Australian of the Year a few years back, Michael Freedman was CEO of BBY for many years as was James O’Sullivan; all three are willing to stand up in public forums or court to verify what they have said. There are others in this boat as well.