Studio 10’s Jessica Rowe: ‘Eddie McGuire made my life hell’

JESSICA Rowe has launched a scathing attack on Eddie McGuire, questioning his intelligence and saying he made her life “hell”.

STUDIO 10 presenter Jessica Rowe launched a scathing attack on Eddie McGuire this morning, questioning his intelligence and saying he made her life “hell” during her brief stint at Nine.

The Network Ten panel was discussing McGuire’s most recent controversy in which he referred to the Victorian Sports Minister John Eren as a “soccer loving Turkish born Mussie” and whether or not the term “Mussie” was racist.

Rowe, who was left embarrassed in 2006 when then Nine’s chief McGuire was reported to have said he wanted to “bone” the presenter, didn’t hold back.

“To me, Eddie McGuire has form and I can talk very much from personal experience,” the 45-year-old said. “The way he has allegedly used language against me in the past and the way he has used language to describe Adam Goodes (is) highly, highly inappropriate and then to try and explain it away as ‘oh that was a brain snap or a brain freeze’ — no that is not on.”

It was back in 2013 that McGuire jokingly suggested that Goodes could help promote a musical production of King Kong. McGuire apologised shortly after his remark, which he described as a “two-second slip of the tongue”.

Rowe went on to say she did think the term “Mussie” was racist and offensive and questioned her former boss’ intelligence.

“If he (McGuire) is not smart enough — and I don’t think he is — to moderate his language depending on the sort of forum he is in, he has to take the flak for it.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have a lot of good to say about that man because he made my life hell.”

In 2005, Rowe was lured to Nine after signing a contract valued at an estimated $500,000 to co-host Today with Karl Stefanovic.

But less than a year into the role, McGuire who wanted to sack her, allegedly said: “What are we gonna do about Jessica? When should we bone her? I reckon it should be next week.”’

The Millionaire Hot Seat host, who is now Australia’s highest-paid broadcaster, denied ever using the term, despite his former colleague Mark Llewellyn signing an affidavit to say that he did.

TV presenter Jessica Rowe with then Nine Network chief executive Eddie McGuire in 2006.

Llewellyn, who defected to Seven told Crikey in 2011: “Not only do I remember Eddie McGuire saying what he said, I remember how he looked as he said it. Including his smirk as he used the ‘bone’ word.

“He said ‘bone’. And he used this crude term in the context of wanting to axe her from the Today Show.”

A year later, under McGuire’s watch, Rowe left Today and returned to Seven as a news presenter. She resigned from Seven in September 2013 to join Studio 10 alongside Sarah Harris, Ita Buttrose and Joe Hildebrand.

Meanwhile, The Australian has reported that player manager Peter Jess last year wrote to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan expressing concern that McGuire had received no punishment for his on-air remarks about Goodes.

Mr Jess, an accountant who has managed the financial affairs of AFL footballers for more than 30 years including prominent Aboriginal players, said if the AFL had taken a strong stand against racism two years ago, Goodes might not have been booed this season.

Eddie McGuire has been contacted for comment.