Earlier this week, comedian Gen Fricker posted a video on Instagram calling out triple j bosses for not condemning racist behaviour in the workplace during her five year tenure there. Now, triple j have responded.
In a statement given to Radio Today earlier today (Wednesday, 10th June), a spokesperson for the broadcaster said that “racism is not acceptable at triple j or the ABC.”
“Our team values are equality and diversity, and we have ABC-wide workplace guidelines and policies and we regularly discuss, at every level, our approach to making our workplace as inclusive as possible,” the spokesperson said.
“triple j’s proud of its culture and the ways we amplify diverse voices, music and issues on our airwaves, but like a lot of organisations, we can always do better.”
The spokesperson also said the station is “listening to feedback from former and current staff within our team as well as wider conversations, and reflecting on triple j’s place within them, both in terms of how we communicate as a team and with our audience.”
Fricker has seemingly responded to the statement on her Instagram story, quoting ‘we can always do better’ and writing:
“Yeah. No shit. How about culling the racists from your management team? Or literally doing anything at all?”
She also wrote, “Now watch as a bunch of white dudes who want to keep their jobs investigate their own racism and come to the conclusion that it’s fine, nothing to worry about, all good, just a bit of fun.”
Earlier this week, Fricker posted a lengthy video to call out her former employers for being complicit in racist workplace behaviour.
“The difference between being not racist and anti-racist is calling out that shit. And I say it all the time. But I don’t think you realise how lonely it was to be one of two brown people in those rooms, having to explain why maybe a white woman singing a language with no black people was a bit fucking problematic.”
