Don Burke, a household name in Australia for his gardening programme, was ‘psychotic bully’ and ‘sexual predator’
One accuser said Burke once showed her a bestiality video and that on another occasion he attempted to remove her clothing and put his hand down her top
A top Australian television personality was on Monday accused of indecent assault, sexual harassment and bullying, with one leading executive referring to him as a “horrible, horrible man”.
The allegations against Don Burke come amid an ever-widening scandal following the downfall of American movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
It has seen women across the world revealing their experiences of workplace sexual harassment.
A joint Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media investigation detailed claims from a number of women who worked with Burke, 70, in the late 1980s and 1990s. They alleged he was a “psychotic bully” and a “sexual predator”.
Two former TV researchers claim he groped their breasts, the ABC reported, while a young actress alleged he told her she would have to do an audition topless.
One of the researchers said Burke once showed her a bestiality video and that on another occasion he attempted to remove her clothing and put his hand down her top.
He’s a horrible, horrible, horrible man. He’s a dreadful, dreadful piece of work … he was a really dirty old man