Politics

Leyonhjelm refuses to back down after calling Angela Bishop a ‘b**ch’

Jul 04, 2018

Leyonhjelm called Bishop a "bigoted bitch" on Twitter. Source: Twitter/Studio 10.

Not even a week has passed since Sarah Hanson-Young called out David Leyonjhelm in the Senate chamber, claiming he told her to “stop shagging men” and now the Senator has locked horns with TV presenter Angela Bishop after labelling her a “bigoted bitch”.

The 66-year-old Senator for New South Wales appeared on Studio 10 on Wednesday and was confronted by Bishop, just one day after he slammed her on Twitter, writing: “@AngelaBishop won’t even listen to @Joe_Hildebrand explain the misandry. What a bigoted bitch.”

When the Liberal Democratic Party Senator appeared on the Network Ten program this morning, Bishop cut straight to the chase, saying: “Senator, you said that you made those remarks because (Sarah Hanson-Young) was guilty of misandry. I am not a misandrist. Why did you call me a b**ch?”

However, he refused to back down and replied: “Because you were being bigoted. Joe was trying to explain to you the context in which I made that statement, and you cut him off. The definition of bigotry is not listening to any other view. That is what I was trying to say.”

Fellow host Hugh Riminton then jumped to Bishop’s defence, arguing: “But if you think she’s a bigot, why not call her a bigot? Why call her a bitch? Real men don’t call women bitches.”

While co-star Joe Hildebrand accused Leyonhjelm of taking things too far and wrote his column for News.com.au: “It is staggering that so many people, let alone an Australian senator, still confuse free speech with abuse. David Leyonhjelm even declares on his Twitter profile that he “blocks ad hom abusers” but then calls my friend and colleague a “bitch” in a post tagged specifically to address her.”

Senator @DavidLeyonhjelm joins us to discuss his comments about Senator Sarah Hanson-Young & explain why he called @AngelaBishop a "bigoted bitch" online. #auspol #Studio10 pic.twitter.com/4uBXduShf6

— Studio 10 (@Studio10au) July 3, 2018

Senator Leyonhjelm continued to stand his ground and refused to apologise to Bishop, saying: “If you took offence at that, I’m sorry you took offence at that.

“Well, to the extent that Angela has said to me she was deliberately not being a misandrist. She was being bigoted — I’m saying that, you were being a bigot, you were cutting off Joe from explaining to you the context in which I made those comments in the Senate.”

But when panelist Sarah Harris asked Leyonhjelm to clarify whether he was admitting that he was wrong to call Bishop a “bitch”, he responded: “Oh no, no no.”

.@AngelaBishop won't even listen to @Joe_Hildebrand explain the misandry. What a bigoted bitch. #ldpau https://t.co/KltzsvsXr4

— David Leyonhjelm (@DavidLeyonhjelm) June 30, 2018

The argument started on Thursday, when South Australia Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, stood up in the Senate and declared: “Earlier today, during the motion relating to violence against women, Senator Leyonhjelm yelled an offensive and sexist slur at me from across the chamber. After the vote on the motion was complete, I walked over to the senator and confronted him directly.

“I asked whether I had heard him correctly. He confirmed that he had yelled, ‘You should stop shagging men, Sarah.’ Shocked, I told him that he was a creep. His reply was to tell me to ‘f… off’. I informed the leader of the Greens, and he has raised it with both Senator Leyonhjelm and the President. I am disappointed that the senator has refused to apologise for this offensive and sexist slur, and I call on him to formally withdraw and apologise directly.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has since spoken out against the comments and Hanson-Young revealed she was considering taking legal action for defamation.

Leyonhjelm has now said that he will apologise to Ms Hanson-Young, if she meets three conditions, saying: “She has to concede that men are not collectively responsible for the violent behaviour of individuals such as the odious man who attacked and raped Eurydice Dixon in Melbourne. That we are all individuals. We are not collectively blamed, that we are treated as individuals. And three, that women have a legitimate right to have things to protect themselves … such as tasers and pepper spray.”