Former Triple J presenter Gen Fricker has put her former employers on blast over alleged security lapses and lax managerial oversight that she claims contributed to a terrifying 2018 incident in which a man gained entry to ABC Studios in Sydney and allegedly assaulted her in the middle of an on-air shift.
In a staggering new interview with Marie Claire‘s Finding Fearless podcast, Fricker (who helmed the Lunch shift on Triple J from 2017 until leaving the station late last year) detailed the series of events leading up to the terrifying alleged assault.
After performing a stand-up set around two years ago, Fricker stated “the manager of the venue was like ‘oh hey there’s a guy outside, he really wants to talk to you, but he’s just kinda giving me a bit of a bad vibe’.” Assuming it was just a “weird” fan, Fricker said she thought “look it’s probably fine, I’ll go out there with my friend, it’s in the courtyard of the venue, there’s people around, I’m sure it won’t be too bad.”
However after approaching the man, Fricker stated “instantly it was a bad vibe.” The man reportedly told Fricker “can I just have five minutes alone with you?” and, feeling no alternative, Fricker lied and told him “yes” before escaping the venue with a friend via a rear entrance.
Following that initial incident, Fricker told Triple J officials and gave station management a description of the man to give to security. After the alleged assault, Fricker claims “I found out later… that it was never passed on.”
Detailing the September 2018 incident, Fricker stated that in the seven months between the man had been “trying to get into the building, into Triple J,” and that he had “got inside the ABC 7 or 8 times, before he made it up to Triple J.” In that time, Fricker claims ABC security and management did not inform her of the growing threat, stating “no one thought to tell me anything.”
“[He was] pretending to be my boyfriend, saying he wanted to drop me lunch because I’d left it at home, pretending that he was working there and he’d just forgot his swipe card at his desk and would you mind swiping him in,” Fricker said. “He was on tours. Because the ABC is so lovely, they’re like ‘we want to take the public around and show you how the studio [works],’ so he literally cased the joint by being on ABC tours,” she said.
“Then one day I was in the studio by myself – because that’s how you do Lunch, you just self-produce it – and this guy was outside, and he broke in to the studio, he just came in. [I recognised him] instantly. And he grabbed me and kissed me.”
“I just ran and told security… He knew where the fire escape was. He got out before being detected.”
Following the incident – which resulted in police arresting a then-31-year-old man and charging him stalking, entering enclosed lands without permission, and common assault – Fricker stated that the ABC’s response was, essentially, “‘this isn’t our fault, you take as much time off as you want but we don’t have to do anything.’”
Upon returning to work Fricker said she “asked [ABC management] for an accountability report and I asked ‘how did this happen? how did he get into the building?’” and that she subsequently “didn’t hear anything for months,” before finally getting “an email going ‘sorry we’re a bit busy at the moment, but we’ll get back to you soon.’”
“And then it dawned on me, it is essentially just like any other workplace. It’s just that the funky Dads are straight, white, old males. Just because they’re wearing cool glasses and jumpers doesn’t make them any less oblivious to women and the issues that they face.”
In response to the bombshell interview, ABC officials have released a statement denying claims of security lapses and managerial non-respnse made by Fricker, asserting that they “provided constant care and support to Gen after the incident and throughout her remaining time at the ABC, over some 16 months, including additional personal security, counselling, transport, additional production and staff support, financial support and flexible working arrangements. We responded promptly and comprehensively to all of Gen’s concerns and needs and enhanced our security provisions for all ABC staff in response to the incident.”
The statement further asserted “as the ABC said to Gen at the time, we were devastated that the incident occurred and committed to supporting her recovery and return to work.”
Despite her claims about how the whole incident unfolded, Fricker retains a positive view of the station overall, saying “I think the ABC is important, I still think Triple J is important and vital.”
ABC’s official statement also asserted “We are grateful to Gen for her years of work at the ABC and Triple J and wish her the best.”
