Don Burke denied he once claimed if he had sex with a young female relative their baby would have the ‘perfect gene pool’.
The disturbing rumour was put to him in an interview on A Current Affair where Burke denied dozens of allegations against him.
The 70-year-old, who hosted Burke’s Backyard for 17 years, was asked about a story presenter Tracy Grimshaw said she heard from a producer.
Don Burke denied he once claimed if he had sex with a young female relative their baby would have the ‘perfect gene pool’
‘You said that you were a geneticist and if you reproduced with this Young family member, the baby would have the perfect gene pool,’ she said.
Burke replied: ‘I don’t understand. You are talking about incest? Absolutely not. I don’t believe that about myself.
‘That is ridiculous. I don’t believe that, and I would never say that. That’s disgusting.’
The broadcaster’s response also claimed for the first time that he suffered from Asperger’s, which he referred to as a ‘genetic failing’ that made his gene pool far from perfect.
Grimshaw posed the question as a follow up to an allegation by an entertainment writer regarding the same female relative.
She claimed Burke told her during an interview at his farm in 1988 that he bought a horse for the young girl so he could watch her ‘rub her c*** on its back’.
‘I was sort of asking the other reasons that he decided to make the country change, and he said one of the reasons was he wanted to get horses because he had a [younger] female relative – i’ll put it that way – who he liked to watch rub her c*** on its back,’ she told the ABC.
‘I felt really physically sick.’
The disturbing rumour was put to him in an interview on A Current Affair where Burke denied dozens of allegations against him
Don Burke (pictured in an episode of Burke’s Backyard) bought a horse for a younger female relative so he could watch her ‘rub on its back’, according to explosive new allegations
TV legend Don Burke has been accused of sexually harassing numerous female colleagues, as well as groping a woman and a teenage girl. He is pictured with accuser Louise Langdon
The reporter, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was so disgusted she took the tape recording to Channel 9’s publicity team demanding action be taken.
She claimed she received a bunch of flowers the following day and the complaint was forgotten.
Burke earlier said he ‘never commented on the body shape of any family member’ when the allegations first surfaced.
‘The story about the reporter quoting me is a total fabrication,’ he said.
On A Current Affair he elaborated on his denial, declaring he ‘never said anything like that’.
‘This is what is driving me nuts, you wonder why they go to that extreme. I don’t know why they would say that,’ he said.
The allegation is one of many made by dozens of women accusing Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments.
The allegation is one of many made by dozens of women accusing Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments
They include grabbing multiple women’s breasts and poking one woman’s bottom, and telling an aspiring actress she could audition if she showed up topless.
He also allegedly tried to take off her bra and top on bus and made her watch a video of a woman having sex with a donkey.
A former crew member also claimed Burke bragged about touching a teenage girl’s nipple three times while showing her how to hold a puppy.
Burke strenuously denied all the allegations and described his accusers as ‘malcontents’ who ‘bear grudges against me’.