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A former TV executive has accused Channel Ten of targeting former Studio 10 star Ita Buttrose, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Rob McKnight, who is suing Ten after being fired from Studio 10 in November, has shared new allegations about the now infamous ‘Brussels Sprout’ incident that occurred between Buttrose and Densie Drysdale.
Speaking on his TV Blackbox podcast, McKnight claimed the incident was an ‘assault.’
Last year Buttrose and fellow panellist Denise Drysdale made headlines after Drysdale hurled Brussels Sprouts at Buttrose during the filming of a Christmas special.
The alleged incident resurfaced last week amid reports Dysdale was leaving the Channel Ten breakfast program, with the television personality admitting she was taking a five month break.
While on air, Drysdale was presented with a cake made of Brussels Sprouts by co-star Jonathan Coleman, who jokingly pretended to mix up Drysdale’s name, referring to her as ‘Ita’.
Fellow panellist Sarah Harris then commented on how expensive Brussels Sprouts were, telling Dyrsdale: ‘You wouldn’t want to throw them would you?’
Drysdale responded: ‘I don’t know, if the right time came up I’d give them a hurl.’
McKnight has since said the incident is one of the reasons behind his departure from the program, and that he is now suing Ten, claiming they owe him 13 weeks’ pay. The matter goes to court in November.
‘There is something about all this that has really upset me. I know the Brussels Sprouts incident is a joke to everyone,’ McKnight said on his podcast, TV Blackbox.
‘Ita Buttose was assaulted at that shoot. It wasn’t a Christmas party, it was a shoot, we were in a professional situation recording a Christmas video clip,’ McKnight adds.
‘Denise has admitted she was drinking. I think the amount will come out in the court case and to make light of this situation … Ita is horrified by this. She is embarrassed by it. She is a victim here and she has become the butt of jokes.
‘What did Ita Buttrose ever do to deserve this amount of hatred from Studio 10 and this lack of respect? I really don’t understand it.
‘Jessica Rowe was given a three and a half hour bon voyage by Studio Ten, and Ita was given a ‘don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out’.
‘The whole show was built around Ita Buttrose. She was the face of it…how Ten and the people at Studio 10 have treated her I can’t reconcile in my head. She doesn’t deserve this.’
Channel Ten is yet to respond to McKnight’s most recent comments.
Related: The shocking truth about Ita and Denise’s bitter showdown
