Brad Fittler under fire for inappropriate remark to gold-medal winning Fox sisters
Channel Nine has responded after NRL great Brad Fittler came under fire over an inappropriate comment about the Fox sisters.
NRL great Brad Fittler has left Jess Fox cringing and Channel 9 viewers perplexed with an inappropriate remark in a live TV segment with the Fox sisters.
Fresh from their domination at the Paris Olympics where the sisters picked up three gold medals between them in the canoe slalom, Jess and Noemie Fox were guests of honour for their hometown Penrith Panthers on Friday night.
Before kick-off in the Round 26 game against the Rabbitohs at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith, the sisters joined Channel 9’s live NRL coverage alongside Fittler.
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However their TV segment was overshadowed by a stunning opening comment by the Nine presenter.
“I’m just waiting for kiss cam to come on … on me,” Fittler told viewers as he stood between the Fox sisters.
“It’s not happening.”
You can watch the moment in the video above
The remark instantly drew an embarrassed reaction from older sister Jess, who put her hand to her mouth and turned away from Fittler with a cringed look on her face.
Noemie meanwhile couldn’t believe she was live on air when Fittler followed up his remark by asking her, “do you like it?”
“The environment here, do you like the footy?” Fittler asked again.
“We’re live?” Noemie asked.
“Yes, we’re live,” Fittler replied.
“Yeah, I love the footy. Honestly, this is an amazing reception that we’ve received,” Noemie said.
Fittler, who won two premierships across 336 NRL games with the Roosters and Panthers, responded with a simple “no comment” when contacted by The Daily Telegraph about the awkward moment.
A Nine spokesperson told the paper he was just being “light-hearted” and that his comment was not directed at the Fox sisters.
“An activation was taking place in the stadium last night with a Kiss cam that was not part of the tv coverage and Brad’s comments related to that activity on the ground,” the spokesperson told News Corp.
“Brad’s comments were not directed to the Fox sisters, no malice was intended and no offence was taken.”
Yet that wasn’t the view of a large number of viewers who took to social media to share their thoughts on the awkward incident.
“Gross remarks from Brad Fittler, you would think he’d know better,” the @RugbyLeagueNews X account wrote.
“I don’t think he should lose his job for this. However it was an inappropriate comment and made the women feel uncomfortable. They were there for sporting achievements not to be hit on.”
NRL fan Peter Kop wrote on X: “Disgusting comment by Brad Fittler at the start of his interview with the Fox sisters before the start of the game. Misogyny at its worst. These 2 women are accomplished Olympians and you could see the shock the comment made to Jess. Shame.”
Another NRL fan, V, wrote: “Brad Fittler is a married 52 year old making a joke about wanting to kiss 27/30 year olds on live TV. They were at the stadium to celebrate their 3 recent Olympic gold medals. They were clearly uncomfortable. It’s not up to anyone else to decide what offends them. He was wrong.”
“Slow motion train wreck of an attempted interview… if it could be called that,” wrote another fan.
“I mean two females invited onto NRL broadcast to celebrate their achievement of gold Olympic medals and they cop that on live national TV. Not the best look for the game,” another viewer wrote.
Meanwhile other fans argued the outrage aimed at Fittler was going too far.
NRL fan account NRL Silverback wrote: “Actually, it’s an awkward moment to say the most. It’s a lame attempt at humour. Cringe and move on. Yourself and others calling him a misogynist and for him to lose his job should be embarrassed.”
Joey Johns blasts ‘disgusting’ scenes
Meanwhile, Andrew Johns and Phil Gould have been left seeing red after the Panthers’ Brian To’o was stripped of a try during the Panthers’ 34-12 win in Penrith.
The Panthers wrapped up a spot in the top four with the win to make the first move as the Roosters and Sharks also chase the second spot on the ladder and a home qualifying final in the opening week of the finals.
After being challenged by coach Ivan Cleary earlier in the week to chase an unprecedented fourth-straight title in the NRL era, the Panthers were in second gear as they put the Rabbitohs away.
Having led 18-0 after 25 minutes, the Panthers could have been forgiven for putting the cue in the rack but superstar winger To’o went for the kill in the 32nd minute when the Panthers went wide on the third tackle.
To’o raced back on the inside and made the Souths players look like they were standing still before fullback Jye Gray took him down.
But To’o was too strong, staying alive and slamming the ball down.
It was a brilliant individual try, but the Bunker has once again played the party pooper, finding an obstruction in the lead up.
As is always a risk when there’s a bit of a breakdown, Liam Martin and Brad Schneider were in the Souths line as To’o cut through.
And Souths forward Siliva Havili made the most of it, flopping into Martin.
Andrew Johns saw the flop in the background and said: “I hope the Bunker doesn’t react as Havili tries to milk a penalty. He was never going to get there.”
Gould, who has long been a vocal opponent of the obstruction rule said: “No the Bunker can have the night off, we don’t need him tonight. You just relax.”
But almost as soon as he said it, referee Peter Gough called time off as Bunker official Chris Butler reviewed the play.
“Looking at Liam Martin and Brad Schneider here in front of the ball, they now deny Siliva Havili a chance to deny Brian To’o, which is an obstruction — we have a decision,” Butler found.
“This is just absolutely ridiculous,” Johns raged. “There’s always people in front of the line, it’s the name of the game. You move ball laterally at different angles coming back. Honestly.”
“He had no intention of getting Brian To’o,” Gould agreed. “It’s way too pedantic — they’ve got tidy all this up before the finals come around.”
Upon watching another replay, Gould added: “He just deliberately runs into him, he doesn’t even try.”
Johns: “He falls over — that is embarrassing. You are rewarding an effort like this. This is what you’re rewarding? Disgusting.”
“Terrible,” Gould said.
On Fox League, Warren Smith said it was “a good call”, despite Havili throwing his body into Martin.
“Havili played for it big time,” Cooper Cronk added. “But still a penalty.”
Smith added: “He milked it, no doubt about that, and in all probability given the angle we just saw, probably doesn’t stop Brian To’o but unfortunately the players in front of him denied him any chance.”
While the Fox commentators were on the officials’ side, the fans did not like it one bit.
Reactions ranged from calling it “embarrassing”, “ridiculous”, “an Oscar worthy performance” and calls to “ban Havili”, while one called it “literally criminal”.
Souths then rubbed salt into the wounds after making the most of another penalty to send Tyrone Munro over in the corner to make it 18-6 at halftime.
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But the Panthers scored twice in the five minutes after the break and cruised to the victory with only a length of the field intercept from Munro the only way the Rabbitohs made any kind of impact on the scoreboard in the second half.
The double from the 19-year-old winger came after the shock death of his mother and uncle.
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