A major investigation from The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) has revealed allegations of indecent assault against radio shock jock Alan Jones.
Several people have come forward with allegations that the former 2GB radio host allegedly sexually assaulted them in the early 2000s, when Jones was at the peak of his career.
Kate McClymont, the SMH’s chief investigative reporter, led the investigation at the Nine newspaper which was published on Thursday. Nine Entertainment owns the SMH as well as 2GB.
Alan Jones’ lawyers provided a response to the SMH over the allegations, “vehemently” denying it all.
“Our client denies ever having indecently assaulted the persons referred to in your letter, and your suggestion that he has is scandalous, grossly offensive and seriously defamatory of him,” the statement read.
Following the publication of the story today, prominent 2GB hosts addressed the story on air. Ray Hadley shared a statement to listeners saying he cut contact with Alan Jones after meeting and hearing the allegations from one of the accusers, a former 2GB employee, who has been given the pseudonym Brad Webster.
“My relationship with Alan Jones goes back 30 years. It’s been an unusual one; we’ve had many battles and some good times,” Hadley said this morning after the story was published.
“From the day I spoke to Bradley, our relationship was basically severed, given it had already been strained over other matters not related to the allegations made by Bradley.”
Hadley also shared about Bradley that, “I regard this young man as not being an attention seeker or a person who seeks notoriety but rather directly the opposite.”
He said he listened silently for “forty minutes” while Bradley went through the allegations that have been documented in today’s story and was “interrupted only by his tears as he tried to compose himself. It was a very emotional conversation for both of us.
“The behaviour he was alleging was unwanted sexual advances from a person in a position of power. That being his boss, Alan Jones.”
Hadley says he offered Bradley his “unqualified support” and asked him what he wanted him to do next. He says he offered to speak to the then station owner and then station chairman, or perhaps act as a support person. Hadley says Bradley said that he had too much to lose, and would be “crushed by making such an allegation. He asked me to promise I would never reveal what we had discussed without his express permission.”
Hadley said that Bradley has now given him permission to reveal their conversations.
Another 2GB host Ben Fordham also addressed the story on Thursday. He said that the allegations were confronting for listeners and affected formed staff members of the radio station.
“Alan knows better than anyone that we don’t shy away from challenging topics and that’s why we are talking about this case here and now.”
The SMH investigation shares details of Alan Jones’ life and career, rising through the sporting world, going on to coach the Wallabiles and the Balamain Tigers, and becoming head of English at The King’s School in Parramatta in Sydney, when he was 26 years old. Jones would go on to become a speechwriter and into television and radio.
McClymont shares some of Jones’ controversial views and the commercial impact they have had on the impact. She revealed that when the Nine network obtained 2GB in 2019, an estimated $20 million had been lost in advertising. According to McClymont, major advertisers pulled the plug after Jones, on his show in 2019, said former PM Scott Morrison should “shove a sock” down then NZL Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s throat and hoped Morrison would get “touch here with a few backhanders”.
The allegations of indecent assault came from five alleged victims, as well as other anonymous people backing up the claims. They include the former 2GB employee whom Ray Hadley said he met with, and shared allegations of his experiences working at the station when he was 20 years old.
He told McClymont that he wanted people to know of these allegations before Jones dies.
“If people don’t know about this, Alan will get the state funeral,” Webster said in the SMH article.
“He will get the prime minister going to his funeral.”
McClymont also details allegations from the late Alex Hartman, who rose to business fame after he sold a software company to Telstra in 1998, at the age of 17. At 18, Hartman was diagnosed with serious bipolar disorder. McClymont reports that Hartman had contacted a number of people in the industry about an allegation of indecent assault that occurred at a dinner Jones organised for Hartman to have at his former home in Newtown, Sydney.
McClymont shares corporate records showing that Jones invested in Hartman’s technological pursuits and supported him financially when he was young.
Hartman considered returning to Australia from his home in Switzerland so he could report the allegations to police. Sadly, he died in October 2019, when he was 39 years old.
Other allegations come from a former restaurant worker who alleges he was groped by Jones while he was working, and when he was 22. Another accuser alleges that Jones groped him while they were driving to a restaurant together, when he was 26 years old. He alleges that when he pushed Jones away and told him to stop, Jones replied, “Why aren’t you afraid of me like everyone else?” The final accusor detailed in the piece was an aspiring musician in 2008, when he alleges that Jones grabbed and kissed him without consent.
2GB staff have received offers of support this morning from Nine’s managing director for radio Tom Malone, and HR Director Vanessa Morley. The email notes that the story may be “distressing” and that a dedicated phone line has been established for anyone who has been “impacted directly or indirectly.”
“We take our responsibility to create a supportive and respectful workplace very seriously, and continue to work with people across all parts of the business to support anyone impacted historically or currently to resolve issues that may arise in their day-to-day roles.”