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Kerri-Anne Kennerley: TV was full of sexual harassers
Kerri-Anne Kennerley has spoken out about the culture of sexual harassment she has personally witnessed in the Australian TV landscape.
“A lot of us knew but in those days there were a lot of men who did push the envelope,” Kerri-Anne told Roo and Ditts from Triple M's breakfast radio team, adding that she knew of “a whole bunch of people” who'd harassed female colleagues.
“Boys will be boys," she went on. "But many of us in that era drew a line in the sand and said: ‘Watch my lips. Do that again and I will hit you!’"
But Kerri-Anne believes the behaviour was simply a product of its time.
“The simple answer was, that was an era," she said. "It was all going on for young and old. There are a whole bunch of people involved, but that said, it was part of an era."
And Kerri-Anne, who was working at Channel Nine during Don Burke's 1990s heyday, said she had experienced the Burke's Backyard host's unprofessional conduct firsthand.
“I’ve done several stories with him, two in my home in various times,” the TV star said.
“There wasn’t any question his language was appalling. I’m not a shrinking violet... but to me he always was just that little bit worse.
“It was the language school of [former media baron] Kerry Packer and it went downhill from that. All of his executives spoke the same way and they were all colourful. But Don, sometimes, was just a little bit more.”
Now, Kerri-Anne is 100% behind the women who are standing up against sexual harassment.
“I’m not trying to justify it,” she said. “It has to be dragged out now because no young woman should ever have to put up with that.”
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