Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson has denied her colleague Erin Molan was sacked by the network for her strong comments in support of Israel after a bizarre conspiracy theory surfaced in Israeli media.
Daily Mail Australia revealed this week that Molan’s eponymous show, Erin, has been axed by Sky News with the commentator not given the opportunity to farewell her viewers by the network.
On Friday, Molan’s co-host Markson wished her well in her future pursuits and wrote on X that it was ‘categorically untrue’ the 41-year-old had been booted off Sky ‘because of her Zionism’.
Israeli news outlets have highlighted Molan’s repeated condemnation of Hamas in their reporting of the onetime Footy Show presenter’s removal by Sky.
Daily newspaper Israel Hayom referred to Molan’s response to the Hamas-led raids on October 7 last year in which more than 1,200 citizens were killed and 254 taken hostage.
‘Molan has been a vocal supporter of Israel on her Sky News Australia program,’ the newspaper stated.
‘Strongly condemning both Hamas’ actions against Israeli civilians and the pro-Hamas demonstrations that have erupted worldwide, repeatedly using her platform to address the ongoing war.’
Israel National News covered the presenter’s axing under the headline: ‘Sky News Australia fires pro-Israel host Erin Molan.’
Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson has denied her colleague Erin Molan was axed by the network for her strong comments in support of Israel. Molan posted a nine-minute video to X on Friday afternoon, saying ‘I care too much’
‘Australian news anchor Erin Molan, who repeatedly defended Israel in the year since the October 7 massacre, has been fired by Sky News Australia,’ its story began.
Molan posted an impassioned nine-minute video to X on Friday afternoon, repeatedly mentioning the Middle East conflict and thanking everyone who had supported her.
‘So that’s done now,’ she said of her Sky job. ‘But I am not. In fact, I’m just getting started.
‘So I’m sorry to those who had hoped otherwise. I’m somewhat surprisingly much harder to kill off than you’d think.
‘You see the problem is – and it’s always been this way with me – I just care too much.
‘About you, about the world, about a peaceful existence for every single child.’
Molan called Hamas terrorists ‘blood-thirsty killers’ and said she would continue ‘fighting for every single hostage still captive in Gaza’.
Markson’s post on X came shortly after Molan’s video went live and began with her saying, ‘I’m really sorry to see my courageous and gorgeous friend leave us at Sky News’.
Israeli news outlets have highlighted Molan’s repeated condemnation of Hamas in their reporting of the onetime Footy Show presenter’s removal by Sky
‘But I know her voice will be strong and she’ll be successful wherever she goes, and I’ll do anything I can to help her,’ she wrote.
‘But I have to clear up this notion that her departure from Sky is because of her zionism – this is categorically untrue.
‘No media outlet globally has shown more leadership or clarity on Israel’s fight against terrorism and our own battle against antisemitism than us at Sky News Australia and News Corp.’
Daily Mail Australia revealed on Wednesday that Molan had already hosted her final show at Sky News and would officially finish up at the channel on Friday.
Although network insiders suggested Molan was caught off-guard by the decision to cancel her show, Sky insisted they had ended their partnership with the host on amicable terms.
‘Erin has been a fantastic member of the Sky News team over the past three years, and has worked incredibly hard for her viewers, passionately advocating on the issues close to her heart,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We’d like to thank Erin for her contribution to the network.’
Despite the fond farewell, Molan was believed to be a no-show at the station’s low-key Christmas party on Wednesday afternoon.
Molan presented her weekly news program, Erin, for the final time on Friday, November 29.
Molan’s 2DayFM breakfast show, alongside comedians David Hughes and Ed Kavalee, was cancelled in August
Network colleague James Macpherson featured on the program instead of Molan last week but viewers were told he was just ‘filling in’ for her and the program was still billed as Erin.
The decision to cancel Molan’s show comes just months after the breakfast radio program she co-hosted alongside comedians Dave Hughes and Ed Kavalee was scrapped by Southern Cross Austereo’s struggling 2DayFM station in August.
The cancellation of Molan’s two key hosting roles is understood to have come at a significant financial cost to the veteran journalist.
Sources said she had been pulling in about $200,000 a year for her 2DayFM radio gig and a further $150,000 a year from her job with Sky News Australia.
Molan joined Sky News Australia in July 2022 after parting ways with Nine after 11 years at the network the previous December.
She debuted Erin at 7pm on July 19, initially replacing Markson on Sunday nights while she was on maternity leave, before her show was moved to 5pm on Fridays.
Explaining her decision to change channels, Molan said she had been keen to break away from sports broadcasting and move into hard-hitting political coverage.
‘Just because I can be silly and funny and all of those things, does not mean that I don’t also have a real passion for politics or that I can’t be credible in other spaces,’ Molan told The Daily Telegraph at the time.
‘I have always deeply loved news and it has always been my passion, I have just been waiting for an opportunity to delve into that.
‘As my show launches, I think that the perception that maybe I am just that sports chick or that chick from The Footy Show will change,’ Molan continued.
‘Being a host on television, it doesn’t really matter what the subject matter is.
‘I have done entertainment, news bulletins, sport, I’ve hosted ridiculous segments on The Footy Show.
‘None of those things make me any less legitimate in another space. The ability to do a lot of different things, to laugh at yourself and be silly but also to be serious and credible when required, I don’t think any of those things are mutually exclusive.’
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