AUSTRALIAN TV star Don Burke has denied sexual harassment and bullying of women during his time as the star of Channel Nine’s iconic Burke’s Backyard.
A joint ABC/Fairfax investigation reports on allegations that Burke was a “psychotic bully”, a “misogynist” and a “sexual predator” who sexually harassed and bullied a number of female employees.
But Burke, 70, has issued a vigorous denial of the allegations, which he says came about because he was a perfectionist in relation to his work.
The claims reportedly come from more than 50 people who worked with Burke in the late 1980s and 1990s.
“He was a vile, vile human being,” Bridget Ninness, a former producer on Burke’s Backyard, told the ABC/Fairfax. “He was lewd and he was crude” and his constant talk of sex was “designed to confront you and to demean you”, she said.
She also alleged he once told her “if anything goes wrong on this trip I’m going to rip your f***ing head off, and s*** down your throat”, causing her to physically vomit.
Burke “absolutely” disputes claims of bullying.
Former chief executive of the Nine Network David Leckie claimed: “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.”
Burke is not accused of rape, as Weinstein is, but he is now denying a string of shocking allegations.
