Howard Sattler fired for questioning PM Gillard about partner’s sexuality (VIDEO)
An Australian radio station fired host Howard Sattler on Friday after he peppered the prime minister with questions about her partner’s sexuality.
Fairfax Radio had suspended Sattler after his interview with PM Julia Gillard on Thursday, in which he asked if her partner Tim Mathieson, a hairdresser, is gay.
“But you hear it. He must be gay, he’s a hairdresser,” Sattler said, according to ABC.
Gillard shot back, saying Sattler was out of touch.
“Right, well, let me just bring you back to Earth,” she said. “You and I have just talked about me and Tim living at the Lodge. We live there together as a couple. You know that. Yes, on the internet there are lots of what I’ve referred to in the past as nutjobs and I'm happy to use the expression again.”
The station said on its website that it objected to Sattler’s line of questioning.
“Fairfax Radio management has reviewed this interview and considers that the questions posed by Mr. Sattler were disrespectful and irrelevant to the political debate," it said in its statement.
Sattler defended himself, saying the prime minister was aware he wanted to ask tough questions.
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He also said he planned to take legal action against the station for firing him. Sattler had just weeks remaining on a two-year contract with 6PR in Perth.
“Given that I had done all that preparation and I alerted her to the fact I wanted a candid interview and they agreed,” Sattler said, according to the Herald Sun, “and I said to her quite clearly if I step over the mark, or words to that effect, if I go too far, stop me.”
Controversies and uncomfortable moments continue to hound Gillard’s leadership.
Her radio interview comes just days after an opposition party fundraiser featured a satirical, and entirely sexist, menu of “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail.”
She’s also faced down an internal party revolt, but trails her opponents in the polls.