Don Burke once told a young TV host it was easy to tell the Burke’s Backyard piglet was female because it had a ‘really big p***y’, she claims.
Wendy Mooney said she met Burke at a network launch in 1995 when she was co-hosting variety show Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush as ‘Miss Wendy’.
The then-24-year-old said she was excited to talk with him because she grew up watching his show with her family.
Wendy Mooney said she met Burke at a network launch in 1995 when she was co-hosting variety show Don’t Forget Your Tootbrush as ‘Miss Wendy’ (pictured)
She claimed Burke told her it was easy to tell the Burke’s Backyard piglet was female because it had a ‘really big p***y’ then ‘made this gesture with his hand, insinuating this big, heavy thing’
Mooney told him they loved watching the show’s piglet because it was funny, and asked if it was a girl or a boy pig.
‘Well, if you look up close to it, it’s a girl pig because it has a really big p***y,’ she claimed he replied, before he ‘made this gesture with his hand, insinuating this big, heavy thing’, she told News Corp.
‘I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it, it was like he was talking about the weather, like he had no idea it was rude to say that, like it was a normal conversation.’
Mooney said was so embarrassed she went to sit with her Channel 9 friends, who consoled her saying, ‘he’s gross, isn’t he?’
Burke in a Monday night grilling on A Current Affair claimed to have Asperger’s syndrome but never got diagnosed, just ‘worked it out that that’s what I’ve got’.
Burke in a Monday night grilling on A Current Affair claimed to have undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome, preventing him from understanding social cues, leading to inappropriate behaviour
He claimed the ‘terrible failing’ prevented him from understanding social cues, leading to inappropriate behaviour.
‘I miss all their body language, you know the subtle signs that people give to you, like ‘back off that’s enough’, I don’t see that,’ he said.
But Mooney did not buy this, calling his behaviour ‘revolting’ and saying he only got away with it because ‘it was the 90s’.
‘I know people with Asperger’s, no way would they say something like that. I’ve never heard a man drop something like that into conversation,’ she said.
Mooney acknowledged she was ‘exceptionally lucky’ and her experience was ‘nothing compared to the other girls’ who have come forward in the past two days.
Mooney did not buy this excuse, calling his behaviour ‘revolting’ and saying he only got away with it because ‘it was the 90s’
Mooney claimed the crew told her what Burke said was ‘normal’, but she never encountered any other unprofessional behaviour at Channel 9
But she said it stayed with her for the past 22 years and she wished she was in a position to tell Burke his behaviour wasn’t acceptable.
Mooney claimed the crew told her what Burke said was ‘normal’, but she never encountered any other unprofessional behaviour at Channel 9.
She said ‘everyone knew what was going on’ even though no action was taken against Burke until his show was axed in 2004.
Mooney’s allegations are among many made by women accusing Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments.
Mooney’s allegations are among many made by women accusing Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments
The claims include grabbing 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’.