Studio 10 panel faces off against Senator David Leyonhjelm over “bitch” slur
<p>This morning, Senator David Leyonhjelm faced off against the <em>Studio 10</em> panel in a heated appearance where he refused to apologise for calling co-host Angela Bishop a “bitch”.</p>
<p>On the weekend, Leyonhjelm called Bishop a “bigoted bitch” on Twitter, following a segment where the host described his sexist remarks against Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young as “pathetic”.</p>
<p>Leyonhjelm appeared on the show today to discuss his remarks and share his views on “free speech”.</p>
<p>"You think it's proper to call women bitches?" fill-in panellist Hugh Riminton asked the senator.</p>
<p>"When they are bitches," Leyonhjelm replied.</p>
<p>After refusing to apologise for calling Hanson-Young a “serious misandrist”, Bishop asked the Senator to explain the remarks he made about her on his social media account.</p>
<p>"I'm not a misandrist. Why did you call me a bitch?" she asked.</p>
<p>"Because you were being bigoted," he replied, highlighting the moment when Bishop’s co-host, Joe Hildebrand, had been “trying to explain the context” of the senator’s controversial remark.</p>
<p>"Why not call her a bigot, why do you call her a bitch? Real men don't call women bitches," Riminton said.</p>
<p>"Oh, you've had a very sheltered life, Hugh," Leyonhjelm replied. "You're entitled to your opinion... I mix with normal Australians and they use that language all the time."</p>
<p>Halfway through the segment, Leyonhjelm toned down his defence and said to Bishop: “I'm sorry you took offence."</p>
<p>"So do you admit that calling her a bitch was wrong?" host Harris asked.</p>
<p>"Oh no," Leyonhjelm replied, causing gasps in the audience.</p>
<p>Riminton later tweeted a behind-the-scenes photo of Leyonhjelm and Bishop, saying that the senator admitted “he probably shouldn’t have said it in public”.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DavidLeyonhjelm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DavidLeyonhjelm</a>’s off-camera concession after calling <a href="https://twitter.com/AngelaBishop?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AngelaBishop</a> a “bigoted bitch” - “I probably shouldn’t have said it in public.” <a href="https://twitter.com/tendailyau?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tendailyau</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/channeltennews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@channeltennews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/5kRiX60NvN">pic.twitter.com/5kRiX60NvN</a></p>
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) <a href="https://twitter.com/hughriminton/status/1014297298921091072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
<p>During the interview, Bishop questioned Leyonhjelm’s intentions with his recent controversial remarks, suggesting he was using the publicity for his re-election campaign.</p>
<p>"That might be an outcome of it, but I didn't set out to achieve that... I didn't try to stop the ball but I also didn't start it," Leyonhjelm said.</p>
<p>"You guys keep ringing me up to come and do interviews," he told the panel. "Free speech is important but so is sexism and calling out misandry."</p>
<p>Leyonhjelm said he would only apologise for his comment about Hanson-Young if the Greens senator made three public announcements rejecting “men’s collective responsibility” in violence against women – a condition she has since rejected.</p>
<p>What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.</p>
