Kerri-Anne Kennerley has hit out at Yumi Stynes after she cancelled her scheduled appearance on Studio 10 on Tuesday following their fiery ‘racism’ row just hours before.
The TV stars descended into a furious argument on air on Monday’s episode as they debated Invasion Day protestors in Sydney’s CBD over the Australia Day weekend.
Kerri-Anne hit out at the protestors themselves, saying: “What about the 5,000 people who went through the streets making their point known? Has any single one of those 5,000 people waving the flags saying how inappropriate the day is, has any one of them been out to the outback where children, where babies and five-year-olds are being raped, their mothers are being raped, their sisters are being raped. They get no education.”
“What have you done?” she asked. “Zippo!”
It prompted Yumi to hit back: “That is not even faintly true Kerri-Anne and you’re sounding quite racist now.”
"You're sounding quite racist right now." @yumichild says to Kerri-Anne as they clash over Australia Day & #ChangeTheDate. #Studio10 pic.twitter.com/qI2qBsiT9t
— Studio 10 (@Studio10au) January 27, 2019
The row descended from there, with Kerri-Anne saying she was offended by the statement and insisting she didn’t intend it as racist in any way.
Shortly after leaving the show, Yumi took to Instagram and posted a photo of some cooking equipment, writing: “I was booked come in to showcase a recipe from one of my cookbooks … INSTEAD, I decided to give myself the day off.”
She insisted: “This is not because of what happened today between Kerri-Anne and I. I am feeling stable and calm and like I’m on the right side of history. Everything is OK. I’m not coming in because I really urgently want to lie around and do nothing. It’s very important.
“I told the new producer Tamara that I won’t be coming in tomorrow. I also gave her the number of my good friend James Mathison who kindly offered to fill in for me as he is available and has done the show a bunch of times and therefore I would not be leaving the hardworking team in the lurch. I have no idea if she will take me up on the suggestion and it’s not my problem.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtLVsLtA09F/
Reading out the statement on Tuesday’s show, Sarah Harris revealed they had invited two high-profile Indigenous voices on to the show later that morning to have their say, before showing images of protesters gathering outside the studio. It prompted Kerri-Anne to hit out at Yumi for her no show.
“Yumi, I respect that you want to lie in bed and do nothing,” she began, before adding: “But not turning up for work when you’ve been booked is seriously unprofessional.
“In my 40-50 years of television, only twice have I not turned up and that’s because I was absolutely flat out and so sick. I have a good record of turning up for whatever reason, under any circumstances… I just don’t get people who don’t turn up.”
From there, she went on to address the row itself, once again insisting she wasn’t being racist in any way.
“This is seriously important to me as I value my reputation,” she said. “I need to address that I was called racist.”
Read more: Kerri-Anne Kennerley clashes with Yumi Stynes in angry ‘racism’ row on air
Kerri-Anne then quoted the definition of racism from the dictionary, explaining: “It means thinking another racial group is superior or that another group is inferior.”
She added: “The statement I made was about the tragic abuse of women and children in some indigenous communities. It is a fact, not a judgement. It is not thinking one group is superior. Throwing words around is dangerous.
“Forget the words. Just help me find a solution to rape, which can lead to suicide in some of the most vulnerable people. I am, always have been and always will be Australian.”
Following her statement online, Yumi has since spoken to the Kyle and Jackie O show, after the KIIS FM hosts called her on Tuesday, and called Kerri-Anne a “cockroach [who] can’t be extinguished”.
The hosts then called Kerri-Anne while she was on Studio 10 in an ad break, who responded: “I am still deeply offended with being called a racist, which is completely untrue.”
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