Alan Jones Has Offered A Half-Arsed Apology For Abusing The Head Of The Opera House
Do the wrong thing, refuse to apologise, wait for the backlash, apologise, repeat.
It’s vintage Alan Jones: Do something horrific on air, refuse to back down for a few days, wait for the backlash to build up, then offer a half-arsed apology. And folks, he’s done it again.
Jones this morning apologised to Opera House Chief Executive Louise Herron after he abused her and threatened her job last week because she refused to project an advertisement for the upcoming $13 million Everest horse race on the Opera House’s sails.
“Who the hell do you think … who do you think you are?” Jones blasted Herron in his typical style, before effectively threatening her job by saying that he would soon “pick up the phone” to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and warning Herron that she had “better come to the table”.
Debate has raged since Berejiklian caved into Jones and ordered Herron to project a promotion for the race on the sails, sparking a fierce backlash from the community. A petition calling on the NSW government to overturn the decision has amassed more than 245,000 thousand signatures.
There’s also been a backlash to the way Jones, who has a history of bullying and belittling powerful women, spoke to Herron.
This morning he apologised on air: “I used some words in these programs about the Everest, and the Opera House, and Louise, which in hindsight I now most regret hearing, having heard the impact they’ve clearly had on some people,” he told his listeners.
“In relation to Louise, I was tough regarding an issue I and others felt is very important. So to Louise and those people who’ve been offended, I apologise,” he said.
It’s remarkably similar to a few weeks ago when Jones proudly dropped the N-word on air, refused to apologise, then apologised a few days letter when the backlash grew too strong.
After that incident, Jones’ show just continued as if nothing happened. Will there be any consequences this time? Probably not.
In better news, the Chaser team last night projected Jones’ phone number onto the Opera House sales. How do you like it now, Alan?