Don Burke - another accused abuser of women

[imastawka]

For almost two decades Don Burke was one of the most powerful men in Australia's entertainment industry. His popular gardening program Burke's Backyard was a ratings juggernaut for the Nine Network until it was unceremoniously axed in 2004.

But now a major Fairfax Media/ABC investigation can reveal that behind the scenes those who worked with Burke claim he was a "psychotic bully", a "misogynist" and a "sexual predator" who indecently assaulted, sexually harassed and bullied a string of female employees.

"He was a vile, vile human being," said Bridget Ninness, a former producer on Burke's Backyard, who later launched legal action against Burke for psychological abuse. "He was lewd and he was crude" and his constant talk of sex was "designed to confront you and to demean you", she said.

Louise Langdon, a former researcher, was subjected to ongoing harassment by Burke which included trying to remove her top, and on another occasion Burke "put his foot into my rear end, with the view to checking the tone of my ... my backside". He then stated that the firmness of her "backside" wasn't "up to scratch".

"I loathed him, he was just a pig. He was lecherous and sinister," said another former researcher who alleges she was indecently assaulted by Burke.

Even David Leckie, the former chief executive of the Nine Network, said he wasn't surprised to receive our call about Burke. "I've been trying to think of Harvey Weinstein-type people [in Australia] and the only one I can ever come up with is Burke. He was a horrible, horrible man," he said.

Unlike Weinstein, Burke is not accused of rape, but the more than 50 people interviewed during this investigation have made serious allegations about Burke's actions.

"Don Burke was a disgrace because of his behaviour internally and externally," said Sam Chisholm, Leckie's predecessor at Nine.

More here -

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/a-high-grade-twisted-abuser-don-burke-a-sexual-harasser-and...

[davidc4430]

i'm not saying they are all wrong

only i feel we are getting a lot of people being allowed to tell 'their story' when their story is 'i heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend'

not actual people who were there when things happened.

ok, i dont doubt he has done some of whats been said, nothing he did broke any laws i dont think, at the time.

he didnt do anything to children, it was all adults. and as adults we are all allowed to make decisions on what is and isnt ok.

so take any foul mouthed rants, bad sportsmanship so to speak out of the conversation and stick to things he actually did to someone. in my life ive had a few foul mouthed bosses give me directions, none ever wanted to undress me.

if he put his hands on any woman inapropriatly then he was crossing a line and she should have alerted someone in authority about it and if it was ignored, walked away from working with mr burke.

yes, sometimes its best to say no this isnt for me.

a bit funny really, one of meryl streeps best known movies is about a woman boss pretty much encaptulating this very subject, the abuse of power against her employees. what a brilliant portrail of the tyranical boss it was said.

devil wears prada.

[domino-710]

So do I.

[tasfleur]

*"So do I"*    

[jimmy*part4]

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@givemeaspell wrote:

Yes of course, the WOMEN must all be telling fibs.....lets blame the women shall we?.....You would have no idea how people feel when treated this way UNLESS you have had it happen to you.    It is embarrassing and not easy to report.......It takes a lot of courage to speak out about this....and yes it can take years. And if you read up on it you will see that most did report it but were told to just do their job.  The bosses of Channel nine said he was a horrible person.  It's just come out what he said to Olympian Susie O'neill - have you read that?  Is she also making this up?

 These women have been backed up by the crew and producers who all saw/heard the same thing.....you may not want to believe it but do you honestly believe that ALL these people are collaborating because they didn't get a promotion........please GIVE ME A SPELL.

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Your post strikes me as coming from a person with an ax to grind. We're not talking about the "R" word here....it's about bad bahaviour.

Why bring it up all these years later? Why bring it up at all? If it wasn't brought up at the time...too late!

Talk about fake news. You can blame the media for fanning the flames and bringing every nut job out of the woodwork. Why wasn't it news worthy at the time? You can lay the blame there. It didn't serve their interests at the time....that's why.

I've had women make off color comments to me, proposition me, etc. I laughed it off, maybe felt a bit insulted seeing as if I followed through it would have been a hazard for me. Like...what if the woman made a false claim after the fact? Maybe her husband caught her and she made up a story to cover herself, while putting me at risk for possible legal action...jail time....loss of job.

One in particular....when she answered the door literally jumped up and down and screamed as if I was one of the Beatles in those old videos with screaming fans. She threatened to run around naked and positioned herself to force me to brush up against her. I managed to squeeze by without touching her, lol. 

Point is, she acted as bad as some of these men and if she became someone famous (maybe worse, because as a man it posed an actual danger to me)....I'd still keep it to myself.

[givemeaspell]

You know what Jimmy? You can't condone this behaviour, I'm not interested in your stories, were these women in a position of power when you we're propositioned? You cannot compare. This was a person of considerable power who has said highly inappropriate things to subordinates - it's not ok!!! And the management at nine let him get away with it - kerry is keen knew about it. Call it what u will jimmy I only hope you don't have a daughter that has to put up with this behaviour- let's just agree to disagree ok?

[givemeaspell]

Kerry Packer***

[jimmy*part4]

Yesterday the NY Post was full of pages about these claims. I'd bet most are true, but some are not. There ought to be some kind of statute of limitations on making these claims. Definitely not worth printing. Especially the majority I'm hearing are about rotten bahavior....nothing illegal, but still enough to ruin people. What happens after it's proven a lie? The stigma is still attached, for life.

I can't find the story, but it was about a woman who claimed she was R**** by some guy many years ago (someone in a position of authority). She claimed she had to get an abortion because of it. Another group decided to pay an investigator to follow her. She went into an office were the business had something to do with a political news group known for planting false stories (I was busy driving in traffic and didn't focus on the story).

She was proven to be lying. Why isn't she being held liable? I know why. Because they'll claim it'll make other victims afraid to come forward. Maybe that's true. But it gives free reign to every nut job out there.

I hope many women out there realize why they'll be given the cold shoulder from now on. I guess if you're married you won't care (and I think most here are married?), but those days of getting that little bit of extra attention should be over. No compliments....nothing. That's how it should be.

[jimmy*part4]

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@givemeaspell wrote:
You know what Jimmy? You can't condone this behaviour, I'm not interested in your stories, were these women in a position of power when you we're propositioned? You cannot compare. This was a person of considerable power who has said highly inappropriate things to subordinates - it's not ok!!! And the management at nine let him get away with it - kerry is keen knew about it. Call it what u will jimmy I only hope you don't have a daughter that has to put up with this behaviour- let's just agree to disagree ok?

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Who said I condone any of their behavior? I clearly stated I didn't. Or should I say, "I clearly stated I didn't!!!!"

But you just made my point for me. The point that there are way too many out there to see things that aren't there (like you just did), and to feel some kind of insult that never exisited.

Luckly I'm not in position of power where you can contact the media down the road and claim "I'm some rotten guy that agrees with this behavior".

"You know what Jimmy?"

Yeah I know, and have always known. That's why I've always avoided certain "people" with axes to grind and mental issues. I'm in no danger, lol.

And my "conversation" with you.....is at an end!

[davidc4430]

Matt Lauer: NBC News fires Today show host over alleged sexual misconduct

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/matt-lauer-fired-over-alleged-sexual-misconduct/9209196

and soon there will only be women on the telly

[springyzone]

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@jimmy*part4 wrote:

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Why bring it up all these years later? Why bring it up at all? If it wasn't brought up at the time...too late!

Talk about fake news. You can blame the media for fanning the flames and bringing every nut job out of the woodwork. Why wasn't it news worthy at the time? You can lay the blame there. It didn't serve their interests at the time....that's why.

---

I think that part of it is easily explained.

The culture has changed over time & it is now more acceptable to talk about it & report it. That's why it's coming out now & not years ago.

When someone in a position of power- a boss, supervisor, TV star etc-makes themselves either nasty or sleazy then it can be embarrassing for the women (and men) who are victims. But over the last few years, it has become more & more acceptable to speak up about it. I think probably a lot of people already did talk about it privately in the past, it's just it never made the newspapers.

You only have to look at the situation with unmarried mothers. So many now trying to make contact with babies they gave up back in the '50s or '60s. It wasn't socially acceptable back then, on any level, to reveal they had had a child. Now it is.

Back in the '90s, my workplace used to have a Kris kringle and usually the gifts were things like chocolates etc but some of the little gifts & poems that some people got could be a bit on the blue side. I remember one of the cleaners (a man) was disappointed as 2 years in a row, he was given stuff like that. Might be good for a laugh, the givers may have assumed. But he was upset. 

The public kris kringle was discontinued after that & we were told why at a staff meeting-that it could lead to workplace claims.

That's the key to stopping things I think-openly talking about what is acceptable & what isn't. But if it is a boss who is the culprit, it could make people feel vulnerable in their jobs.

As for people (men or women) who are found to be making false claims-there should be stiff penalties & jail sentences for that. It is affecting someone's whole life & career. I recall years back a muslim woman claimed a police officer made racist comments about her & laid charges but luckily for him he had a webcam & could prove what was said. She had lied but then all the arguments came out that she was a mother, she shouldn't suffer a penalty, her kids would miss her etc

Rubbish. She tried to ruin an officer's entire career, make him unemployed,(and that would affect his family!) just so she could escape a fine. She should have been trhown in jail.