Former Crikey columnist Guy Rundle has apologised for saying “every grope is now a sexual assault” and for implying that “sexual assault is a trivial matter” 10 days after he was sacked for texting the comment to ABC Radio.
The freelance journalist was sacked by Crikey after he sent the text to Radio National’s Breakfast program that was read on air by host Patricia Karvelas.
“Guy Rundle has written in to say, ‘soft interview on the head of a failed strategy, and it’s because every grope is now a sexual assault and people don’t believe policy people’,” the ABC radio host told listeners. “Well, that’s quite staggering,” she said.
The ABC later revealed it was one of more than 100 “inflammatory” texts on a variety of topics he sent to Karvelas in recent months, at times critical of the ABC broadcaster and some of her guests, including news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden.
In his statement Rundle said his text was taken as expressing the idea that “unwanted sexual touching” was not sexual assault and was “falsely inflating” the statistics. “This is not what I believe,” he said. “All unwanted sexual touching is sexual assault.”
“The term ‘grope’ was wrongly chosen. Seeking to use a term from everyday life, I did not consider how trivialising, insensitive and vulgar the term was, and the false impression it would give of flippancy about this issue.
“I regret any damage done to Arena, by my texting into the show, and I apologise for creating an entirely false impression that sexual assault is a trivial matter.”
It’s the first public comment Rundle has made since Will Hayward – the chief executive of Crikey’s parent company Private Media – said the comment was “appalling” and that Crikey would no longer be publishing Rundle’s work.
Rundle’s statement was published on the website of the leftwing publication Arena where he is a co-editor. The Arena editors have asked him to step aside while they have “further discussions”.
The statement from Arena editors said Rundle made an “important point”.
“Guy’s largely hidden point in the text was that definitions of assault have changed significantly in recent times, and that this must be taken into account when seeking explanations of any rise in sexual violence,” the editors said.
“This is an important point, and from our point of view potentially opens on to significant questions around emerging sexual mores and new structures of power around sexual life and identity.”
Hayward’s explanation to Crikey readers has generated more than 300 comments, several of them vowing to cancel their subscription now Rundle is no longer being published on the website.
“Rundle was the only reason I renewed my subscription a few weeks ago,” one wrote. “He is the only writer I know who offers a view on our society that makes sense of it as a whole; he also captures so well the atmosphere of particular places at particular times and makes me laugh.”
“I wish a Rundle-less Crikey well, Will [Hayward], but I for one can’t continue to support the publication,” wrote another.
Rundle, who is in the US to cover the election, did not respond to a request for comment.
