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...

[icyfroth]

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@johcaschro wrote:

Autism Experts Diagnose Don Burke As ‘A F*ckwit’

"Several experts in Asperger’s syndrome and autism have carefully analysed Don Burke’s behaviour and concluded that he is in fact a common ars*hole.

The specialists were commissioned to provide a professional opinion after Burke claimed his self-diagnosed Asperger’s could explain his sexual misconduct over the years."

http://www.theshovel.com.au/2017/11/29/autism-experts-diagnose-don-burke-as-a-fckwit/

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While I have no doubt that he is indeed an a-hole, I'm surprised that professionals would use such language.

[whiznumber6]

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@icyfroth wrote:

While I have no doubt that he is indeed an a-hole, I'm surprised that professionals would use such language.

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"The Shovel" is a well-known satire website, similar to the "Betoota Advocate". It's a joke article. It's not real.

[icyfroth]

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@whiznumber6 wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

While I have no doubt that he is indeed an a-hole, I'm surprised that professionals would use such language.

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"The Shovel" is a well-known satire website, similar to the "Betoota Advocate". It's a joke article. It's not real.

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Ok thanks for that!

[johcaschro]

 

[johcaschro]

Ch9 Executive Just Wishes He’d Been In A Position To Stop Burke When He Was Burke’s Boss

"Prominent ex-Channel Nine executive Daniel Gycker OAM says he has been rattled by the allegations made about Don Burke and published overnight in a joint Fairfax and ABC investigation. . . .

“I just can’t believe all of those things that I had imagined being true, actually were” says a distressed and concerned Gycker.

“How did he get away with it?”

“I just wish I was able to do something about it at the time”

http://www.betootaadvocate.com/breaking-news/ch9-executive-just-wishes-hed-position-stop-burke-burke...

[jimmy*part4]

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@springyzone wrote:

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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.

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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.

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"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."

That's another part of this I have a problem with. Judging a person by todays standards for things they did in the past. The best analogy I can come it with, ATM.....Let's say they legalize marijuana in your state and you partake, then years later it becomes illegal. Then someone brings to the public that you smoked and you get charged. It's not the same I know, but....

Strange that some have gotten away with acting that way. If anyone acting that way at any job I've ever had they'd be gone right away. I've actually warned people for some comments they've made in front of women (and not nearly as bad as  some of the stories I'm hearing). I'm pretty sure they didn't listen though, lol.

[jimmy*part4]

"Not sure if these women have mental issues or axes to grind. I don't have either and neither do I 😜"

Lol!

[jimmy*part4]

Funny how the people most likely to bash others, boldly, are the worst offenders....

edit: he also addresses why they don't sue false accusers...

[not_for_sale2025]

I wonder how long it's going to take before a male or a female comes forward to complain about sexual harassment or abuse by a woman? Will some commenters have the same passion and 'string em up' attitude, or will excuses be given to justify and condone their behaviour. One thing's for certain, it will be interesting.

[springyzone]

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@jimmy*part4 wrote:

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@springyzone wrote:

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@jimmy*part4 wrote:

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"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."

That's another part of this I have a problem with. Judging a person by todays standards for things they did in the past. The best analogy I can come it with, ATM.....Let's say they legalize marijuana in your state and you partake, then years later it becomes illegal. Then someone brings to the public that you smoked and you get charged. It's not the same I know, but....

Strange that some have gotten away with acting that way. If anyone acting that way at any job I've ever had they'd be gone right away. I've actually warned people for some comments they've made in front of women (and not nearly as bad as  some of the stories I'm hearing). I'm pretty sure they didn't listen though, lol.

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Yes, I totally agree, we can't go judging people of past ages by today's standards.

Well, we can.

But realistically, we shouldn't expect people from the past to have had the same mentality or outlook as we have now.

It's what I think of as the blinkered effect. Stuff that was in plain sight but no one saw it. or correction-the majority did not see it Slavery, young children working in mines, married women not allowed in the work force, racial discrimination entrenched in places like USA & Sth Africa, unwed mothers having to hide pregnancy and adopt out as a matter of course. We could go on and on.

We've got blinkers on too. People in 50-100 years time will look at us today and say-why did they allow this or that. I don't know what about exactly because I'm blinkered too but I'd be willing to bet it will happen.

Every age has its own causes. You get a very few voices raised at first, they gain momentum & over time the viewpoint in society changes.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/former-inxs-star-kirk-pengilly-says-he-misses-slapping-a-woman-o...

I thought this was interesting, an INXS member who says he misses being able to slap women on the backside and women back in the 1970s took it as a compliment.

 I think to some extent he is correct in that women probably didn't say anything in those days & knew it was a 'compliment' of sorts. But I don't know that most women actually liked being slapped by strangers even back then & it would have made a lot of young women very uncomfortable.

For people who committed serious offences in the past-offences which were illegal then & illegal now-they should face the law. But those who only knew of the offences or heard of the offences, who were quiet or didn't know how to deal with it, there's no point expecting that they were seeing it through 2017 eyes.