ABC apologises to Governor-General, but not dancers at centre of ‘creepy’ editing storm

The national broadcaster says sorry to David Hurley — but not to dancers — for its ‘misleading’ video of the group at a naval ship commissioning.

101 Doll Squadron at the ship commissioning ceremony.

A Sydney dancing troupe that performed at a naval ship commissioning ceremony says the ABC has failed to apologise to its dancers in favour of Governor-General David Hurley, and accused the broadcaster of “upskirting” them.

The 101 Doll Squadron went viral this week when they “twerked” at the commissioning of the HMAS Supply, and says its dancers feel shamed by the ­national media coverage.

An ABC story on Wednesday reported government MPs were shocked that the dance was allowed at a ship commissioning with the Governor-General in attendance, but it has since been revealed the dance was before the official ceremony and General Hurley never witnessed the performance.

The ABC has apologised to General Hurley and Chief of Navy Michael Noonan for editing intersecting images of the dancing with pictures of them both in the audience — making it look like they were watching — but has yet to apologise to the dancers.

Governor-general David Hurley’s office said it was “disappointed” the ABC story depicted him in the audience, when he was not present.

101 Doll Squadron leader Maya Sheridan, in a letter to the ABC, said the public broadcaster should acknowledge her troupe’s trauma and accused the public broadcaster of using specifically sexualised images of the troupe, which she said demeaned her colleagues. “We are very upset at the attention you have brought to the 101 Doll Squadron. We’ve been persecuted non-stop and all experiencing anxiety and distress,” Ms Sheridan’s letter states.

“You deliberately shot our crotches from an angle which nobody else saw that were in attendance. Your worldwide public upskirting of our troupe has left us distressed and shamed.

“For all your attacks on mainstream media, you fed them the most unsavoury and demeaning images of women bar none.

“To add insult to injury, you released a statement in which you apologised to the Governor-­General (who wasn’t there) and didn’t apologise to the ladies who you demeaned and embarrassed. They are daughters, sisters and mothers that enjoy dancing and you have turned their artistic interest into shame. We expect better from our public broadcasters.”

In a statement on Thursday, the ABC said it had not filmed the dancers in any different way to suggest the dance was more provocative than it was. “The ABC’s footage of the dance performance was shot in a standard manner, from the same position as other parts of the ceremony,” the ABC spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The navy has come under heavy criticism for its decision to include 101 Doll Squadron, which also performed a more traditional dance during the formal ceremony and has worked with HMAS Supply in the Woolloomooloo community previously.

General Hurley’s office has said it was “disappointed” the ABC story depicted him in the audience, when he was not present.

“The performance occurred before the Governor-General arrived. The presentation of the video to suggest otherwise was disappointing,” his spokesman said.

The ABC spokeswoman said they had run the footage of General Hurley and Vice-Admiral Noonan when it received information they were present for the dance, and then moved to correct the story when Defence denied it.

“The video should not have been edited in that way and the ABC apologises to the Governor-General and Chief of Navy, and to viewers, for this error,” she said.

Scott Morrison blasted the ABC’s report on the matter, saying it was “misleading” and he felt for the dancers who had been caught up in the story.

“I am disappointed that this event was so misreported. I think that was disrespectful to the performers,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday. “ I think standards have failed … the ABC should be reflecting on that.”

What a load of partisan rubbish Michael. The ABC which broke the story has been running the images non stop on tv and social media, clearly figuring like the DT that showing the images is central to showing how appalling the navy’s judgment was.

— David Penberthy (@penbo) April 15, 2021