Better Homes and Gardens host Johanna Griggs calls out misogynistic behaviour she experienced at Channel Seven early in her TV career: ‘They wanted us to slap each other on the bum’
Johanna Griggs has exposed misogynistic behavior she allegedly experienced during the early days of her career at Channel Seven.
The 50-year-old host of Better Homes and Garden spoke on the Empowering Leaders Podcast on Wednesday about the encounter she once had with a male boss many years ago.
She said the director, who is no longer with the network, asked Joh to slip into a bikini and slap a female colleague on the backside for a promo.
‘We had a promo for a lot of bosses at Seven. “They wanted to have all their networking talents running along the beach in bikinis and slapping each other’s butts,” she said.
“Baywatch style?” said presenter Luke Darcy, to which Joh replied: ‘Yes.’
Johanna Griggs, 50, (pictured) has exposed misogynistic behavior she allegedly experienced during the early days of her career at Channel Seven
The former competitive swimmer said she refused to do the promo, but was met with confusion from the boss, who was shocked that she didn’t like the idea.
Joh claimed he brought up her previous stint ‘modeling for Inside Sport’ and said she has worn a lot of bikinis in her time.
‘[I told them]”I did that when I was an athlete, 100%,” the mother of two added.
The host of Better Homes and Garden spoke on the Empowering Leaders Podcast on Wednesday about the encounter she once had with a male boss many years ago
“I said, ‘Put it this way: I’ll do it when Bruce McAvaney runs down the beach in a pair of sluggos and slaps some guys on the butt,’” she continued.
“And that was the end of the conversation.”
Ny Breaking Australia has approached Seven for comment.
She said the director, who long ago retired from working at the network, asked Joh to slip into a bikini and slap a female colleague’s butt for a promo.
Joh has had a long career with the network since joining Seven Sport in 1993 as host of the Australian Open.
Producers plucked her straight from the pool after she struggled to keep her swimming career on track following a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.
The veteran presenter and former athlete now hosts the network’s Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games in addition to the Melbourne Cup.
Joh also hosted the renovation show House Rules from 2013 to 2019 and started hosting Better Homes and Gardens in 2005.