BARRY Hall’s partner Lauren Brant has come to the defence of the AFL legend saying his disgusting on-air comments were just “silly”.
NOT even Barry Hall realised what Barry Hall was saying.
Sharing a story among mates inside the studio at Triple M, the former St Kilda and Sydney star blurted out an off-colour “joke” that shocked listeners and sealed his own fate.
Hall was talking about a technique used by medical professionals, known as a ‘membrane sweep’, which former teammate Leigh Montagna’s wife Erinn underwent to induce labour. Hall insinuated the doctor acted in a sexually-inappropriate way.
He was sacked on the spot and targeted by Australians convinced he had finally lived up to his playing nickname — “Big Bad Barry Hall”.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Hall’s partner Lauren Brant said it was a “silly conversation”.
“My usual approach towards media attention is to keep quite (sic), however I cannot do that this time round, because what is happening to my family is not ok,” she said.
“Barry was involved in a silly conversation on air where he made a stupid comment.
“What I cannot accept, is that he as a person is now being held as an example of what is wrong with this country in terms of its attitude towards women.
“He has lost his job because of it, our son and myself are being attacked (which is a whole other conversation, because how is verbally abusing a woman and innocent child an accepted response to someone being accused of being disrespectful to women?) and is getting labelled as something he is not.”
But lost in the outrage is the real conversation we need to have, one articulated best by Melbourne comedian Meshel Laurie.
Appearing on Triple M Breakfast to discuss the open letter she penned on Saturday night, Laurie told Paul Roos, Seb Costello and Anthony Lehmann that Hall had unintentionally touched on something no man should talk about — let alone laugh about with mates.
“The first thing I need to say … and this is tough, but to my ears this was a joke about sexual assault,” Laurie said.
