Mardi Gras accepts Wilson’s apology
A Channel Ten newsreader has apologised on air after he branded the Sydney Mardi Gras parade “disgusting”.
The interview on Ten’s Morning News on Monday between Mardi Gras co-chair Peter Urmson and newsreader Ron Wilson turned sour after what began as a general discussion about the political themes of this year’s Mardi Gras. It quickly turned into a tense back-and-forth between the two when Wilson began questioning the relevance and appropriateness of the parade in 2011.
“Some of the spectacles you’re seeing, I’m assuming would even make you cringe. It becomes an exploitation almost of a sexual image rather than trying to explore the diversity of lifestyle,” Wilson said.
“Our community is extremely colourful, and we celebrate our diversity through …” Urmson replied, before Wilson interrupted by saying “there’s a difference between colourful and disgusting”.
At one point, Wilson questioned why the gay and lesbian community was pushing same-sex marriage as an issue.
“There’s acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle. Why not let time take care of the gay marriage issue rather than pushing it?” he asked.
A clearly dumbfounded Urmson responded by saying, “Because if we don’t push for it, no one’s going to.”
Criticism of Wilson’s performance exploded on the Star Observer’s website – www.starobserver.com.au – and social media platforms, with many questioning the bizarre and uncharacteristic editorialising of what began as a fairly straightforward interview for the 35-year news veteran.
Following the backlash Wilson apologised for the interview in a statement on Monday night and on air at the end of the Tuesday morning news broadcast.
“As a journalist, my job is to present an issue from different perspectives,” Wilson said in an on air apology.
“But there is no question I could have chosen my words better. If anyone took offence at anything I said during the interview I apologise. I fully support the gay community in its campaign to promote the issue of gay marriage and I congratulate the gay and lesbian community on the success of Mardi Gras. Please take that with the upmost sincerity.”
Urmson said he was happy to accept Wilson’s apology.
“We appreciate the need for an interviewer to present contrary views and it is our roles as spokespeople to respond, however clearly a line was crossed yesterday and Ron made some highly subjective and damning comments which it is now clear he regrets,” he said in a statement.
“Furthermore we appreciate that Ron was prepared to go on record, on a personal basis, stating his support for same-sex marriage. That is something that neither major political party has to date been prepared to do. It is not something Ron needed to do, but clearly felt important to put on record.
“As far as we are concerned, it lays the matter to rest. Channel Ten has given otherwise positive coverage to this year’s Festival and Parade, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.”
Sydney gay activist Gary Burns has announced he will lodge a complaint against Wilson at the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board.
“The Mardi Gras may not be everyone’s cup of tea but surely diversity on a night like this is acceptable,” Burns said.
Ten also released a statement yesterday in regards to the comments:
“Ten Morning News featured eight minutes of overwhelmingly positive coverage of Mardi Gras. Ron Wilson congratulated organisers on the success of the 2011 event.
One small section of the interview raised a question about behaviour by some participants. The phrasing might not have been ideal, and TEN apologises if any viewers took offence.
However, it is not unreasonable for alternative views to be put to organisers and the interview talent agreed that while he didn’t hold the view, some sections of society may.”
Remember Channel 10, families go the beach and see all those girls with boobs flashing! Are you going to call all families disgusting?
I’m gay and I find some of the parade tacky and disgusting. There is no doubt that some of the floats spread an image of our community that is not the best. We should be more careful about how we present ourselves to the world. It’s just about being media-savy.
I’m 100% gay and i cringe at how lewd and nasty mardi gras participants can get. I don’t mind Ron wilsons criticism using the word disgusting. I pretty much feel the same. why would he apologise. I hope he takes him to court and gets knocked back by the judge. that would be funny.
[…] I note that Channel Ten newsreader Ron Wilson is under attack for suggesting that some parts of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras were an exploitation of […]
Ron Wilson might well go down to any beach and he will find more nudity then mardi-gras, and public displays of heterosexual people kissing or holding hands in a sexual way can be found on any city street.
I do not think our rights are “disgusting”. I do not think we should “wait and settle down” and have no further rights.
Channel 10 needs to broadcast an apology on the same show they vilified us in.
Those questions sounded like they came from Fred Nile’s office, or a conservative Christian person. Channel 10 should be embarrassed by this, as a gay-Christian, I found Mr Wilson’s explanation of expanding the story using journalism to be unsatisfacory. Only a homophobic person would have wrote those words, to goad Peter Urmson… If he said a similar thing about women he would have been fired.
Substitute disgusting for tasteless and he would have been bang on the money. I stopped reading when the article mentioned Gary Burns. I find him an embarrassment most of the time for his ability to accuse nearly everyone of homophobia.
Obviously he did the wrong thing but the apology seemed sincere so I won’t hold a grudge.
Perhaps Wilson does have a point, but his choice of words was a classic tabloid confrontational interview tactic.
I think he may have been put up to it by Channel 10’s news boss, who himself felt emboldened by the escalating anti-gay marriage scare campaign being waged by Murdoch’s The Australian newspaper.
While that newspaper is not very widely read by the public, it *is* widely read by news media insiders who often take its cue on national issues.
Don’t underestimate the agenda of The Australian’s conservative chief and his senior editors. In our fight for equal marriage, countering that newspaper’s influence is one our biggest hurdles.
There are undoubtedly aspects of the gay and lesbian lifestyle which are disgusting, and perhaps these are what Ron Williams was referring to.
Perhaps he is disgusted by:
• The high proportion of gay and lesbian young people who attempt suicide – in part because of school yard bullying and a belief that their sexual preference is disgusting. Ron Williams could spend time with the Suicide Prevention Australia to understand this issue a little better.
• The large numbers of gay and lesbian young people who are thrown out of the family home and live on the streets because their sexual preference is seen as disgusting by their family. Volunteering with charity Twenty10 would help educate Ron about this.
• The high rates of drug dependency, depression and suicide amongst gay and lesbian people caused in part by having your sexual identity labelled as disgusting. Spending time with the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service would help Ron understand this issue better.
• The unacceptable level of ‘gay bashings’ which occur in Australia – perpetrated by people who feel that a homosexual lifestyle (or even mannerism) is disgusting. Time spent with ACON’s anti-violence project would help Ron understand this.
Wether intended or not, his use of the word disgusting has caused real damage and is a step backwards in the fight for full equality. It showed poor judgement and a lack of understanding of the sensitivities and the issues involved.
Apologies to date have not been adequate, a suitable donation by Ron personally and Channel 10 to the organisations listed above would go some way to show genuine remorse.
Joy, oh joy. Another person in a powerful position (high profile media) using that position to promote his stupidity and /or ignorance. If women had not ‘pushed’ for voting rights and had waited for ‘time’ for it to happen, we would still be waiting (and not celebrating International Women’s Day today). If aborigines had not ‘pushed’ for those same voting rights (and land rights and healthcare) and now for equal opportunity, but waited for ‘time’ to take it’s course, they would still be waiting. It’s a sad indictment on our society I know, but success in the area of basic human rights for ALL, has not happened waiting for ‘time’ but by brave people fighting for it. Sadly, so too does the gay community have to fight for same sex marriage, a right that is enjoyed by the rest of the community. Stupid comments coming from people like Ron Wilson stir up the rednecks, the stupid and the ignorant members of our society as evident by one or two of the previous comments. Pull your head in Ron, your homophobic attitude is showing no matter how ‘sincere’ you believe yourself to be.
It’s not so much the disgusting comment that offends me – as I personally don’t think it looks very attractive to look at big fat guys wearing G-Strings either.. although he could have probably refrased it better – what annoys me the most is the he calls being gay a lifestyle choice – This in itself shows his ignorance and arrogance..
Sounds like Wilson isn’t entirely sure whether he was offensive or not. Maybe he should go have a think about that before offering a half-assed apology.
He wasn’t being homophobic. You might want to look up the definition of the word.
The gay collective need to stop being so freaking sensitive every time someone voices an opinion about them. Get over it already!
Personally, I agree. I’m a gay guy and I think Mardi Gras *is* cringeworthy. It’s not homophobic to voice the opinion.
I tend to half agree with Wilson. This being my first mardi-gras I was embarassed at the fact that most women had their boobs out, lots of penises on floats everywhere, people dry-humping and such… If you were to do that on the same street any other day of the year, you’d get arrested.
I for one don’t think its good for our community to be seen like that, it makes us a JOKE and was cringe-worthy. It makes a mockery of the rights we believe and the bills we want passed and the important issues we want brought to light.
I certainly don’t want to be associated with a mockery of the community and thats all I saw Saturday Night.
And for people who say they are so open minded and such, a lot of you are very narrow minded when it comes to people of your same community having differing opinions on whats good for it. Just respect it, you don’t have to like it.
@Glen,have you asked any if they would like to????
Looks like we still havent matured yet as a community. Why are we still being so sensitive to critisism?
I agree with @Will about the technique Ron “probably” used to get some passion into the discussion. Clearly this has worked.
.. and yes the Mardi Gras theme this year was “Say Something” and Ron did Say Something, also probably on behalf of some viewers.
I think the interview seemed balanced, positive, supportive and also critical.. Whats wrong with that?
I also think Peter held his own very professionally.. We should feel proud to have him as co-chair.
Are there any straight people on The New Mardi Gras Board?
@David 9.26pm
Grow up,lol..and whats this “honey” crap,you may be gay as am I,but please god why,why do we have to act so pretentious and over feminine it’s immature,and in case you have not noticed the straight community that you all so often like to group yourselves away from and be “victims” is supporting us more than the Government or Churches.Stop being so judgemental and negative.
As a news reader Ron Wilson should not be abusing his position by using the news desk as a platform for his (narrow-minded) personal views.
His job is to read the news. I don’t care for his opinion.
To be fair to Channel 10, I think he may have been using a known journalist technique, which is using the devils advocate – presenting and conveying one of the many opinions viewers have and giving the interviewer the opportunity to show their point of view as valid.
Tellabelle,
You are exactly right! At last someone sees!
I have just watched the interview.
In all fairness I feel that Ron was referring to some of the more blatant sexual floats or acts and was not referring to the homosexual community at all.
If given a chance he probably would have said the same about music TV, Straight advertising and all the other references mentioned above. Sadly, I think Ron Wilson’s personal feelings escaped him here. That is not good reporting. However, I still feel it is the public sexual acts and references he finds disgusting and not any persons from any particular group or sector of the community.
Life is short. Act positively, live generously, support all. Manage setbacks and move forward.
C x
Ive seen a lot of comments about how straight people would get in trouble for an overtly sexual display like mardi gras and that we should limit our displays to what everyone would find “tasteful”…
Simply put, i’ll worry about being equal under law when we are equal under law. Until then we protest to get the same rights that some Australians are lucky enough to born with…
A presenters position is not to encourage or incite hatred amongst people. After 33 years in the position surely you would also know that people pick up on the change of tone in his voice and can clearly see this was his views he was venting.
Its time for channel 10 to now get behind Mardi Gras and give them some cash to help promote them.
But again this is just another example of how the big guys get away with dismissing the issue.
As Ron would say “Why not let time take care of the issue”.
Oh sorry Elle when I found this place yesterday I didn’t realise it was an exclusively Gay site! Why is it that some Gays are so quick to discriminate against openly straight people? Shouldn’t we all be seen as equal irrespectiive of our sexual preferences and lifestyle?
He called our community ‘disgusting’ and asked ‘why we should fight for gay marriage’ absolutly it is necessary!
We take one step forward, two steps backwards. His coments made me feel sick.
The reason the public becomes aware of the messages of equality – the earnest, very important, simple, yet unexciting moments in the Mardi Gras parade – is because they tune to see people flashing their pink bits and Tony Abbott buttf^&%ing Julia Gillard.
Take away the raunch and no-one learns anything they didn’t know. No-one watches. Don’t even know if I’d even bother watching it myself. Just talk amongst yourselves. No one will give your your rights if you bore them so much that they don’t even notice you, because ultimately they don’t care about your needs. You have to trick them into learning something. Mardi Gras is good at that. More tits, more ass, more people seeing happy gay kids with their parents. Aha, gotcha! It’s called strategy.
I’m sorry, but you people saying that MG should be toned down are the same people who told us not to hold hands on the street 20 years ago. I’m very happy for you to lead quiet suburban lives and listen to Enya in your flannel pyjamas, but you must understand that no-one has ever rewarded timidity with rights, and no-one ever will. The (incomplete) rights that you enjoy are given to you as a compromise by straight people who are scared of giant paper mache penises and see you as the lesser evil. It’s called strategy. Gay and lesbian people should be allowed to do whatever the f#$@ they want to do in their own parade.
Im gay & i really think 35 years is enough for mardi gras it should be stopped its boring its just the same old thing over & over each year its losing money & its expensive to enter each year where is all the money going its now too political & the prices at clubs just go skywards the point has been proven so what we,re gay doesnt make us different from anyone else bar we like our own kind & as for gay marriage its just a peice of paper the divorce rates will be just the same as the other.
The trouble with this idiot is that he is both stupid and ignorant. He tells us how he was a reporter ‘back in ’78’ when the first parade was on and people were bashed and vilified.
His ‘updates’ are pathetic and his position is ugly.
I’m sure he has or will have a horrible life ahead of him …