“Poorly researched rubbish”: Ray Hadley slams Alan Jones over stance on George Pell
Radio presenter Ray Hadley has slammed rival Alan Jones over his morning interview with columnist Andrew Bolt about Cardinal George Pell’s acquittal.
Sydney radio 2GB mornings host Hadley said Jones had aired “poorly researched rubbish” on his breakfast show.
Bolt, who is based in Melbourne is a newspaper columnist, blogger and Sky Television host and made an appearance on Jones’ show demanding an apology from Hadley for calling him “creepy” after he defended the cardinal.
But Hadley said Bolt was wrong because he only called him “creepy” in reference to a separate case concerning a pedophile.
“I won’t be apologising for calling him ‘creepy’ in relation to Pell because I did not,” Hadley said furiously as his show began at 9 am on Wednesday.
“So Mr Bolt don’t hold your breath … check your facts.”
Hadley then told his audience Bolt was on his open phone line before saying ‘you’ve had your say’ and declining the call.
At 9:25am, Bolt hit back on his Herald Sun blog, saying “Ray Hadley is a coward.”
“I asked to go on air for a right of reply but he refused.”
Bolt then said he tried once more to get on air and spoke to a Hadley program staffer.
“Once again Ray refused to take my call, and then went on air again to accuse me of bullying his staffer. Falsely claimed I said I would have his staffer sacked.”
Bolt did admit to telling the staffer he should be ashamed of working for Hadley and that “I would remember him”, according to his blog post.
The feud began when Bolt spoke to Hadley’s 2GB stablemate, breakfast host Alan Jones, just before 9 am and demanded the apology.
The pair had been discussing the outcome of a High Court hearing into the Pell case.
The court on Tuesday acquitted Cardinal Pell of five child sexual abuse offences because there was a “significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof.”
Cardinal Pell spent over 400 days – first in Melbourne’s Metropolitan Remand Centre and alter the maximum security Barwon Prison – in jail before he was released within hours of the High Court judgement.