“We Can Always Do Better”: Triple J Responds To Gen Fricker’s Claims Of Racist Office Behaviour
"Like a lot of organisations, we can always do better."
Triple j has released a statement responding to former presenter Gen Fricker’s accusation that the station failed to address racist behaviour in the workplace, with a spokesperson saying that “racism is not acceptable at triple j or the ABC”.
Over the weekend, Fricker posted a lengthy video to Instagram in which she detailed a number of incidents of racist behaviour that took place in her time at the station — including her white colleagues adopting a “blaccent” in the office, and a former manager signing off on a prank involving someone doing an Indian accent, “pretending to be an Indian call-centre worker.”
“After seeing black tiles all over my feed and people sharing things about how the gatekeepers of the culture should be held accountable. I’m just going to put this out there,” Fricker said.
“If you work at triple j and you’re white, you’re part of the problem. People can write this off as angry former worker, I don’t care, I have nothing to lose. And I’m also saying this because having chatted to people of colour who work at triple j with triple j, want to be on triple j, these are the discussions we are having. So here it is.”
In a statement provided to Radio Today this morning, the station affirmed that racism isn’t acceptable within its workplace, but acknowledged that it “can always do better”.
“Our team values are equality and diversity, and we have ABC-wide workplace guidelines and policies and we regularly discuss, at every level, our approach to making our workplace as inclusive as possible,” a spokesperson for triple j and the ABC said. “Triple j’s proud of its culture and the ways we amplify diverse voices, music and issues on our airwaves, but like a lot of organisations, we can always do better.”
According to the statement, the station is “listening to feedback from former and current staff within our team as well as wider conversations, and reflecting on triple j’s place within them, both in terms of how we communicate as a team and with our audience.”
“We know we have huge opportunities to play a part in change and we’re committed to working harder and doing more,” the spokesperson said.