When discussing Taylor Swift‘s current lawsuit, radio host and Australian identity Fifi Box spoke about how she has experienced uncomfortable moments being a woman in the media industry, and admitting that she has also been sexually assaulted whilst on the job.
“You could argue that I’ve been sexually assaulted, and yet laughed or giggled my way through it because I am either scared or intimidated by the situation,” Fifi said.
Fifi goes on to speak about a certain incident with a “VERY high-profile” older guest that came on her show approximately 10-15 years ago, and allegedly assaulted her mid-interview.
During the interview, he was touching me – so reaching over and grabbing my leg and stroking my leg – and then Byron witnessed this – [the celeb] grabbed my head and forced it down into his crotch. Actually rubbed my head into his crotch.
Co-host Byron Cooke refused to let the interview air, which Fifi credits as him standing up for her, and keeping her dignity safe by not putting the audio from her assault on national radio.
Byron added that “not that it was ever right, but it felt like 1981 with this dude. It was just wrong on every level – it sounded wrong, it looked wrong, it was just wrong.”
Fifi explained that her initial reaction to the situation was shock, and then began to question her thoughts that the behaviour was normal and fine when her boss came in to the studio for a photo with the celeb.
Our boss came into the studio and I was looking at him like ‘oh thank goodness, you’re here to save me’ and our boss wanted a photo with this person. So I in that moment am thinking maybe what happened to me was fine, because everybody thinks this guy is a big, famous person.
Both Byron and Fifi agreed that if the situation happened in this year, they would have called out the celeb and taken the appropriate actions to make sure the man was held accountable for his unwanted actions.
You can listen to the whole segment over here, and if this story has brought up any issues or you wish to speak to someone, you can contact Lifeline or 1800RESPECT through the numbers at the top of this page.
You are not alone.
