The Project host Lisa Wilkinson is known for voicing her opinion, but the TV star has now launched one of her most brutal attacks yet on Australian prime minister Scott Morrison after he rejected Pamela Anderson’s calls to help WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange come home to Australia.
A day after the former Baywatch star hit back at Morrison for what she described as “smutty”, “lewd” and “unnecessary” comments, Wilkinson penned an open letter of her own to the PM. It followed comments he previously made on Gold Coast radio station Hot Tomato FM in relation to the Playboy model.
“I’ve had plenty of mates who have asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort the issue out with Pamela Anderson,” he said at the time.
Shocked by the comment, Wilkinson didn’t hold back in a scathing attack in her 10 Daily column, firstly criticising Morrison for appearing on FM radio. She insisted politicians with “falling poll numbers” go on FM radio to try and appeal to Millennials.
We've found the audio of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's #JulianAssange interview with Hot Tomato – "I've had plenty of mates who have asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort the issue out with Pamela Anderson” #auspol pic.twitter.com/LFiwuyBkWK
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) November 6, 2018
“And hey, let’s face it, Pammy did run on the beach in a red bathing suit for the cameras,” the 58-year-old sarcastically wrote. “So that makes anything she says irrelevant and her fair game for sexual innuendo, right PM? She is just asking for it!”
Wilkinson explained that she knew the PM’s comments were intended as a joke, but said anyone who didn’t laugh along was accused of not having a sense of humour. She also said for many women, comments such as those made my Morrison imply their ideas and words shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“What we hear is every time we’ve ever been belittled simply because we are a woman,” she continued. “We remember every time we’ve asked personally or professionally to be taken seriously, and instead been told not to worry our pretty little head.”
The mother-of-three wasn’t done there, explaining that one in five Australian women has been a victim of sexual assault. She also asked the PM if he would like his own family to be spoken about as he did of Anderson.
“And I wonder if this is how you would like men in the future to be talking about your girls? No matter what they choose as their career path,” she added.
The Channel 10 star went on to accuse Morrison of “trying to be every bloke” by wearing baseball caps and cracking dad jokes, but insisted that Australians want a leader for change and a person who will make a difference for the future of the country by inspiring others.
Read more: Pamela Anderson slams ‘smutty’ PM for rejecting calls to help Julian Assange
Wilkinson ended her piece by asking the PM to apologise to Anderson and to “do it” for his two daughters.
Anderson’s open letter was originally published in the Daily Beast, where, like Wilkinson, she said people deserve better from political leaders.
“You trivialised and laughed about the suffering of an Australian and his family,” the 51-year-old wrote. “You followed it with smutty, unnecessary comments about a woman voicing her political opinion. We all deserve better from our leaders, especially in the current environment.”