Stan Grant has expressed his disappointment in the ABC’s failure to defend him after The Australian newspaper published an article claiming he was the subject of a bullying complaint.
Grant posted a statement on the article on his social media.
“For the last 24 hours I have been the subject of a smear campaign by media,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
“I have also seen my former employer the ABC fail again to defend me.
"What journalists owe the public is the truth.”
The article details an interaction between Grant and a former colleague that occurred on January 29.
Grant explained it came after the sudden death of his niece and his return from caring for his elderly father.
At the time, he was being consoled by a friend and colleague in the ABC foyer.
Grant said at the time he was in "an emotionally fragile state".
“A colleague approached me in what I and the witness felt was a confrontational manner," he said.
"Things escalated in a way they should not and things were said that were not acceptable.”
ABC offices at Ultimo, Sydney. Source: AAP
As reported and confirmed by The Guardian, Grant’s former colleague did not lodge a formal complaint about the interaction.
'A racist hit squad'
The Australian had reported Grant “erupted in a lengthy, expletive-laden tirade” against his former colleague.
“This is an Australian newspaper; a racist hit squad that has been targeting me forever,” Grant told The Guardian.
“And I am sick to death of me and my family being smeared constantly."
Grant said this isn't the first time the newspaper has "targeted" prominent Aboriginal people.
“They’ve targeted Marcia Langton, they’ve targeted Noel Pearson – he’s been depicted as some sort of raving bully in the past,” Grant said. “They’ve done it to Larissa Behrendt, they’ve done it to Bruce Pascoe," he said.
"It’s hunting season for Aboriginal people, that’s what it is."
It's reported The Australian enquired about the interaction for several months before publishing the article on Tuesday.
The newspaper had attempted to sought information under the Freedom of Information Act however, the request was denied.
The article quotes the rejection letter from ABC's FOI officer.
Grant's exit from journalism
Grant announced his resignation from the ABC last week, a move that comes after he stepped down as host of the network’s Q+A program, citing racist abuse in an article back in May.
In his response to the Australian’s article, Grant reiterated his reasons for walking away from the media.
“This is destroying my family,” said Grant.
“I left the ABC because trust is broken. I left the media because I don’t believe it serves us well. It divides and it doesn’t care who it hurts. It is toxic. I have been part of the problem for too long. am so sorry my colleague has been dragged into this. No one deserves this.
"This was an awful misunderstanding at an emotionally fraught time. This is the truth.
"Judge me how you wish. We should all be better. We should all expect better from the media. We should all expect the truth.”
Since the release of Grant’s statement, the Australian has published a follow-up article with the headline: “I should have behaved better, admits Stan Grant”.
