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ABC boss says sorry over Hamster Decides sketch

Mark Scott says a satirical sketch on Chris Kenny was "a mistake and I regret the delay in making this apology."

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2014-04-14_1332ABC Managing Director Mark Scott has apologised to News Corp columnist and Sky News commentator Chris Kenny for a sketch in which The Hamster Decides depicted him having sex with a dog.

The sketch, which aired last year, has been at the centre of a legal case initiated by Kenny and the attention of media watchdog, ACMA.

Scott has previously labelled the sketch “tasteless” but today issued a statement:

I wish to apologise to Mr Chris Kenny for the controversial ‘The Hamster Decides’ skit run by ABC-TV in September last year.

At the time of broadcast, I described the skit as tasteless and undergraduate, but noted that it raised questions about the nature of satire and the boundaries of free speech afforded to satirists, comedians and cartoonists.

The audience of The Chaser expect fierce, robust and irreverent satire. Final decision-making on what goes to air, however, rests with the ABC.

There are different matters at stake here: whether the ABC should have made the editorial decision to broadcast the skit and separately, whether broadcasting such a skit was within the ABC’s editorial guidelines for satire and offence. Mr Kenny’s decision to take legal action on the grounds of defamation is also a separate matter.

Notwithstanding any ACMA finding however, I have come to the view with the Director of Television that the ABC should not have put the skit to air.

Having reviewed the issue, in my opinion it falls short of the quality demanded by our audience and normally delivered by our programming. While Mr Kenny is a strong and persistent critic of the ABC, and can expect to be a subject of satire, the depiction of him was very strong in the context of the satirical point attempted.

As a consequence, I would like to apologise to Mr Kenny for the ABC having put the skit to air, his depiction in the skit and because it was triggered by his criticism of the ABC. I am sorry for the distress this incident has caused him and his family. I have also called Mr Kenny today to convey this apology and put it in writing to him.

While I had been waiting for internal and ACMA review processes to be completed before issuing this statement, I now believe that was a mistake and I regret the delay in making this apology.

Mark Scott
ABC Managing Director

Kenny has told Mumbrella, “I have instructed my lawyers to try to settle this matter as soon as possible.”

13 Responses

  1. I’ll tell you why the apology took so long: Scott didn’t want to dignify this blatant anti-ABC line of attack from The Australian with a response. It’s just a shame he didn’t stick to his guns because it looks like vindication for Holt Street. But with the recent threats from the Abbott regime over this case, I guess he was backed into a corner? We all know Kenny was nothing but a pawn played between his News Corp editors & ABC. Surely being constantly wheeled out by his editors to feign outrage & remind the public he was called a dog f***er by the Chaser must have been highly embarrassing? We would’ve all forgotten about hat little skit if he & his colleagues didn’t keep bringing it up all the time.

  3. I suspect that the ABC lawyers told Scott what the chances of success wre in defending the action, and what the cost was going to be.

    What a begrudging apology. And I love the justification being that because Kenny is a persistent critic of the ABC then that justifies whatever the ABC cares to throw at him. The question really then becomes – are avid supporters of the ABC going to be subject to any scrutiny?

    Don’t get me wrong – I am usually a supporter of the Hamster/Chaser lads but sadly this one just wasn’t funny. I even defended their “make a realistic wish” sketch – because – although it hurt – it was still funny and made a point.

  4. @stevew, your Liberal Party sockpuppetry is showing.

    You pay for everything, not just your taxes, the naive “taxpayer” argument shows just how limited your understanding of the real world is.

    When was the last time Rupert, Gina or Kerry stood up and said they got it wrong. Yet they distort, misrepresent and even outright lie everyday. They just tie you up in court until you run out of money.

    Until the commercial media separate revenue and news with rigid fact checking and equal time for errors, we need the ABC.

  5. This apology was a case of too little, too late, I’m surprised too this needed months of delay, ABC clearly had been wrong, and I don’t blame Chris Kenny at all.

    Based on some of the logic of these posts below, I’d expect 6PR is reinstating Howard Sattler then….simply not good enough to blame the victim and to do so is as offensive as the skit!

  6. I am pleased to see Mark Scott step up as “Editor in Chief ” of the entire content division and not just News/Caff. This could be an important moment for the ABC because it clearly needs someone of his leadership and vision. This situation could and should have been avoided. Mark Scott needs to pay attention to all the genre heads and what they are doing.

  7. About time. You would have thought this one was a no-brainer and Scott trying to bluff it out by hiding behind “on-going investigations” was silly.

    All Kenny asked for was an apology, his letter of demand didn’t even seek damages. It could have been over and done with in 5 minutes.

  8. No one should have to apologise for satire. Comedians have the right to be offensive, and people have the right to be offended. That doesn’t mean they’re owed an apology.

    There are a thousand things in life that upset, annoy, irritate, and infuriate me, but I don’t get an apology for any of those, and neither am I owed one. I just choose to move past it, or not consume the product, service, or entertainment anymore. I can even leave a bad review or ask others to boycott them.

    But I am not owed an apology. That’s just not how it works.

  10. And my taxes pay for this crap…..bring on the cuts to the ABC I say. Stick to drama and news and cut all the panel shows and comedy shows…it’s public monies, it should be spent on more mainstream entertainment not filth like this. Now well be paying for the compensation as well! If there is a payout it should come straight out of the comedy budget within the ABC, let’s see if they find that funny.

  11. Chris Kenny should get over himself. Given the current Federal Government’s commitment to free speech, the Chaser should look forward to screening that segement again and again and again.

  12. I’m starting to wonder if this has something to do with upcoming budget and cuts to the ABC, given comments that Tony Abbott gave about the Chaser sketch a few months ago.

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