Matthew Johns apologises: “I’m extremely sorry.”
On A Current Affair Matthew Johns apologises to the woman at the centre of a group sex incident, in a tough interview by Tracy Grimshaw.
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Disgraced Channel Nine personality Matthew Johns faced Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair accompanied by his wife Trish.
In a lengthy 20 minute interview, Johns struggled to find the words to Grimshaw’s questions.
The Footy Show host finally apologised to the woman at the centre of the incident, now widely reported as group sex in New Zealand in 2002.
“I wasn’t aware of what she had been through. I can say now any trauma, embarrassment that she has gone through as a result of this, I’m extremely sorry for.”
“I’m extremely sorry to my wife and my family as well,” he said.
Johns said he takes full responsibility for the situation that “I find myself in.”
But he also reiterated the consensual nature by all those in the hotel room.
“I would say that on the night when she came back to the room she was a willing participant in everything that occurred,” he said.
Grimshaw was tough in interrogation: “How could she in going back to the room with two of you, have ended up being a willing participant in a queue of blokes at the foot of the bed having sex with her?”
Johns struggled with his answer.
“In the statements that were made to police it says she encouraged players to come forward… she actually said ‘someone come forward and have sex with me.’
“At no time was she under any distress.”
He said he was not initially aware of other players entering the room and went as far as to say the woman encouraged the acts.
Grimshaw asked, “You see Matthew most right thinking people would be looking at you right now saying how could you have looked at that scenario and seen anything that was ok in it?”
“Morally it’s not ok,” said Johns.
He later said he did not commit an act of abuse on the woman, and denied knowing she was 19 years old.
“The woman walked away from the situation with enormous regrets and embarrassment.”
Johns’ wife Trish said her husband told her every detail of the event seven years ago. “My inquisition went on probably for months and possibly even years,” she said.
“He had to be terribly honest with me otherwise we could never have continued with our marriage andlack of trust.”
When asked about her feelings of the woman involved, she added, “I certainly wouldn’t like it to be my daughter.”
After a compelling interview in which Grimshaw noted ‘you’ve lost your career to speak of’, she told viewers it was up to the NRL to now identify the other men in the interview, “if it is serious about addressing this culture.”
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83 Responses
I want to buy the rights to this movie! Who do I approach.. her?
Or maybe a new TV series Under12men
Lets face it, all league players are neanderthals.
You look into their eyes and it’s just blank, there is nothing going on in there. As most of them say,” if it wasn’t for league i would be unemployed or in jail” – says it all really.
Honestly, pay em all about $20,000 a year and make them work, get a trade or get educated (unlikely of course).
They are sub human creatures – they remind of of the apes at the start of the film 2001 (that is an insult to apes of course).
Oh, and that slap on the back that Vautin did on the last footy show was a disgrace.
Grimshaw is wasted on aca. From the parts of the interview I saw, she really stuck it to him and didnt give him much wiggle room.
I feel sorry for Matthew Johns only because he seems to have become the sacrificial lamb in this story. Where are the other players involved? Too gutless to come forward I suppose.
Glad Matt has guilt and confessed, irked no others have come outed, little sympathy for the guys. But Grimshaw’s interviewing technique was agonizing and I switched off. She was purely gouging him out for ratings – she’s an appalling “journalist”.
I think Ken and Susie made some excellent points. My opinion is that 19 is an adult. She chose to go into the room she chose to participate in a sexual liaison with these men. She could have said “no” if she chagned her mind but did not. She probably did not regret it at the time but over time she may be starting to feel the shame of it.
There are many women who like to go through a team of players as a way of stoking their own ego. I am so angry that it is always the men that are at fault. When you put yourself in a situation like that you have to take responsibility for yourself. A 19 year old should know that. We need to stop making this all about Matt Johns. He is one of the participants
I hope to god this lady does not end up in New Idea or Women’s Day next week, then I really think her credibility is to be questioned. Why come out now?
Tracey Grimshaw did a fantastic interview and was tough on him. She did a great interview with Nick Darcy also. This is the type of journalism missing on shows like this. Good on you Tracey.
Shame on Channel 9 for exploiting an employee to gain an exclusive interview with on the same day he was stood down!
Yes, Matt Johns, did a morally wrong thing, but how immoral is it to stand Johns down with a large payout with the condition he does an interview with ACA!? Media Watch, please investigate!
Channel 9 would love this. Big ratings for ACA, bigger ratings for Footy Show tomorrow night…and wait for it…even bigger ratings when Johns makes his return in a few weeks time. It’s all manufactured.
The number of people defending Matthew Johns is frankly horrifying. The fact that half of it’s from women is even worse.
For me, the point isn’t whether he committed a criminal act. Yes, we all know that there were no charges laid. It’s not technically rape, although I do not think a 19 year old would be able to back out of a situation like that when faced with a whole team of professional rugby players. She may have consented to one, maybe two, but after that…
It is, however, morally wrong. The point is that these guys seem to think degrading women is an acceptable form of male bonding. Whether or not it was consensual, it was degrading. There is a serious problem in this country with perceptions of women, and no place is it worse than in the NRL.
I agree it’s unfair that MJ is the only one being blamed. The other players should be named as well. But he deserves everything he’s getting.
Why why why does he have to apologise to this woman?
To his wife….sure. He cheated on her. And I’m sure he’s already apologised to her many times in the years since.
But can somebody please explain why he needs to apologise to this mystery woman who had consensual sex with him and felt guilty about it afterwards?
I say again (from the previous article)….No Charges Have Been Laid. No Charges Have Been Laid. I can’t stress that point enough.
Matthew Johns a good man? Please Samantha , he was married at the time and had group sex , I am sure his wife wouldn’t agree with your comment ‘he was out for a good time with his mates”. Good men don’t go out and cheat on their wives and have group sex, I think that is a deragatory comment on the decent men that are in our society ,and they are a majority and would totally disagree with you that this is how they would spend a night out with their mates.
Wrong is wrong, I understand that, but, I feel Matty is being made an example of due to the bad behavior surrounding the league right now. In the good old aussie way, he has’nt dobbed his mates in & is taking it all on the chin like a man who admits to making a mistake. Groupies flirt with rock stars, race car & bike riders & anyone famous, not just footballers. Out of all of this, atleast Matty has the b*** to stand up to it, where are the other p***** ?
were those crocodile tears coming from Matt ?.. he certainly was trying to get that emotion through but i didnt buy it.. and congrats to Tracey for an outstanding interview
I’m over this story now; fact of the matter remains he had group sex, she consented to it; it was dealt with by the law; the police have closed the case – he is a free man; because this girl has regrets is no ones fault but her own; if she didn’t want to feel dirty then she shouldn’t have group sex done deal.
All Parties have been a bunch of ****s. Bring back Ten’s Monday Night Football!
long time reader post time poster.
Saw the interview last night. 2 things. Firstly i guess, well done Johns for being man enough to go on ACA – it must have been harder than any tackle you’ve ever had, especially with your wife sitting right next to you. Karma is ruthless!
secondly i thought Tracey was intense with her technique great – she asked the questions we all wanted to know, no holds bar. some of the questions were plain stupid though, but ACA isn’t really a show of high integrity or stature in the society. It is a trashy magazine.
ps – tracey had a mole on her face near her mouth, i thought it was food at first. sorry tracey.
A very well known legend of league mainly from the eighties who played for NSW and Australia was my hero when I was growing up. After his retirement but still high profile within the media, he asked me out to lunch. After all those years of him being my hero I did not refuse even though he is a married man. I was too. I was so bitterly disapointed, insulted and offended by the actions and sexual inuendo he used during lunch. In fact, at one time he grabbed my hand and rubbed his crotch under the table. I was so shocked and hurt that my hero acted this way. I ended the lunch early after he asked me to go back to a motel with him. As I got in my car so did he. Within a minute he was masturbating in the passengers seat. He grabbed my neck and made me kiss him. I pulled away. He then had the nerve to use a towel on the back seat of my car to clean himself up. He continued to harrass me with text messages after this. I was so disgusted by what he did. I told my Doctor as I was so upset by what had occured and he said to report him. I never flirted, encouraged or did anything to cause that situation. I also had the DNA to prove it. Yet I could have never destroyed his career or the lives of his family over it. My Doctor said he didn’t care about his family, why should you? Probably true. However, I just couldn’t do it even though I was so let down by my one and only childhood hero. This woman enticed them, enjoyed herself obviously as she didn’t say no to the queue waiting their turn. I wonder what sort of person could really take these steps to destroy a mans career and family. I did nothing to cop what happened to me and I had more right than this woman to take this right to the limit, without question as I have the DNA. I still hurt to this day about how he treated me and I’m angry too that the man I had plastered all over my walls and that I idolised could do this even out of the limelight playingleague but still very much in the public eye. Really am I stupid or just morally a better person to suffer a little myself than take vengeance and destroy a family?
to all the rock spiders crawling around in this thread: if nothing was at least ‘morally suspect’ in that room, why did he feel the need to go and apologise to her in the carpark?
johns had the opportunity to stop others from coming in the room. he was the most senior one there, but didn’t. and according to 4 corners ‘cheered others on’ something which he didn’t even attempt to refute.
and the other thing we need to point out, for some here who inhabit a tv blog, you’re still clueless as to who pays for stories and who doesn’t. 4 corners doesn’t pay for interviews and the girl knocked back the chance to cash in on this when it happened in 2002 when the tabloids came calling.
and i believe i am thank u
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I watched the show tonight and will say Tracy did a wonderful job in this interview. and i cann’t see to blame John alone for whatever happened , she is responsible equally as well.
This woman has no case on any grounds. which is also the opinion of the NZ and AUS police, no charges were ever laid. The fact she has admitted never saying no or to stop, is all i need to hear to know that there was no crime committed here. she’s upset because after going to the police and finding out being upset because she didnt like or enjoy what had happen wasn’t mattys or any one fault. she was a willing participant at all times and never once objected!
As Samantha said,”If you didnt want to take the ride then why did you step on the train ????” Now here’s a woman who knows a thing or two about voicing her concerns. maybe the Kiwi woman could take a leaf ot of her book.
An appalling man, and an appalliing role model for young Australians. Clinging on to his wife’s leg while he sought sympathy for his anxiety about being found out merely illustrated the extent of his self absorbrion his lack of insight into, or responsibility for, his behaviour, and that of his colleagues. The RNL continues to degrade women and so does the footy show. Come on Gyngell, make some real changes to that show, and never ever put Matt Johns back on the payroll..
i’m not saying that being under age and 19 are the same, although 19 is still pretty young, what i was trying to get across is that different people deal with these things in different ways, and for some people it can take a long time for them to come to terms with what happened and to be able to speak about it. that is why there is no statute of limitations on this sort of thing. some children/people can speak about a sexual assault immediately, while others repress it and don’t tell anyone for years. people treating her as if she is guilty based purely on the time that has passed is wrong and is one of the many issues that victims and victims groups have to work to overcome in our society. and if police even investigated in the first place, which is what them not pressing any charges implies, then she did report this immediately, she did not wait 7 years before deciding that she was not happy with what happened that night. there can be plenty of reasons why a police investigation failed that have nothing to do with whether they deserved to be charged or not. perhaps she felt let down by the justice system and so finally decided that turning to the media was all that was left to her. i do not know what her reasoning was or what was in her mind, neither do i know why the police could not press any charges, and neither does anyone else. all i want to get across is that in a criminal trial for sexual offences you cannot use the time that has passed before reporting the incident to discredit a victim, so why should we here.
Double standards??
How can you compare a violation of a junior to consentual adult group sex. That does not even make sense. Regardless of the time gone by buggery to a minor is illegal and shold be treated as such.
Shagging a consential 19 year old is not illegal, regardless of how many partners she wants until she stays stop. Then it becomes abuse / rape.
There are many that have been abused many many years ago, now they can say say it was wrong, but they knew no different in the 60′ and 70’s.
In this day and age, and yes even 7 years ago, we all know what was right and wrong by current standards. .