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Ian Roberts joins court action against Footy Show ‘gay skit’

Former footballer Ian Roberts becomes a co-complainant to court action over a 2009 Footy Show skit 2009 that has been branded as villifying gay men.

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Court action by Sydney gay activist Gary Burns against the NRL Footy Show has seen former footballer Ian Roberts sign as a co-complainant.

The 2009 skit featured a fictitious gay brother of troubled NRL siblings Andrew and Matthew Johns, called ‘Elton Johns’.

“I want to return this,” said Johns’ father Gary in the skit. “It’s faulty.”

Elton Johns, portrayed by Matthew Johns, said: “Dad only knew I was gay when he walked in on me and my boyfriend Ian (Roberts).”

The skit sparked controversy last year after Burns lodged a complaint with the the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board. Nine claimed the skit was taken out of context and has since apologised to Burns. Part of  Burns’ request for conciliation was to require The Footy Show “explaining the dangers and ramifications of homosexual vilification and the reasons why it is wrong.”

In June the show included a segment on gay rugby union team the Sydney Convict Rugby Club in which vice president Matt Vagulans criticised the skit’s poor humour. By July Paul “Fatty” Vautin was even actively promoting a campaign against homophobia.

Roberts will now testify against Nine in the upcoming Administrative Decisions Tribunal court case, telling gay &  lesbian newspaper SX, “I’ve signed on with Gary, that was always my intention, and I’m willing to do whatever I can to make sure Channel Nine and The Footy Show don’t get away with this.

“The Footy Show belittled and degraded gay kids and effeminate kids in that disgusting skit, and they dragged my name into it, and I’m not going to let that pass.”

The former sports star turned actor who has had roles in Nine’s Underbelly and Sea Patrol said, “How f***ing dare they drag me into something that degrades and belittles gay people.”

Gary Burns (coincidentally the same name of the Footy Show executive producer) has said he wants the matter remedied in the public interest, and any damages would be donated to the Luncheon Club AIDS Support Group and Twenty10 youth group.

A spokesman for the Nine Network said it had already addressed the issue and still rejected the claim the skit vilified gay men.

Johns is no longer part of the Nine Network and tipped to sign with Seven shortly.

Source: SX, Daily Telegraph,

13 Responses

  1. i am also gay and didnt find the skit offensive at all i think people like Ian Roberts and Gary Burns need to build a bridge and get over it Comedy is dead in this country and thats sad

  2. Ian Roberts is a media seeker. I am a gay man & have never been offended by these p**s takes.Big deal,have a laugh & get a life.Don’t watch if you don’t like.

  3. The Footy Show really need to cut out this sort of “comedy”. I’m also a gay teen who has not come out to my family and I can say it is the subtle poking and prodding like this that really get me.

    It is almost too easy to assert that the gays are just a bunch of cry-babies or having yet another whine, without considering what it is like to grow up gay. This skit is probably on the lighter side of the homophobia spectrum, but it still contributes to a culture of ridicule and homophobia.

    Whenever i see jabs at homosexuals like this, I always ask myself “would have they allowed that if it was about race?”, since I’m non-white as well. In most cases the answer is no.

  4. Just had to comment on what rugbyfuture had to say. Rugby Union is the least inclusive sport in the world! This is a sport that very happily banned players because of their skin colour for crying out loud. As for this Footy Show skit, I switched it over about 30 second in because it was just ridiculous. You see a lot of really stupid things on TV all the time and if you reacted to all of it, well, it would be your full time job. The very best thing anyone can do who doesn’t like what they see? Switch the TV off and don’t give the show in question any help in gaining attention. Pretty simple really.

  5. I am absolutly apauled by the footy show. As a gay teen who is strugling to come out to my family I find this disgraceful that someone would mock what me and many others like me have been through. The worst part of it is this show which many sports fans and men will watch is promoting homaphobia and makes it look acceptable. The next time someone gay is beaten up or treated unfairly, I blame the footy show. TV rules people’s minds nower days and something which treats homosexuality with such contempt will only stir up hatrid and cause more young homosexuals to be treated in a very bad way. The show should be taken off the air perminantly in my opinion. All shows like this do is hold Australia back.

  6. I always end up arguing with myself on censorship issues because mostly i think things end up being more offensive than they really are because they are simply not funny. However, my problem with comedy (if i can use that word) skits like this is that there is no actual attempt at making a joke. The inherent ‘joke’ is this family has two superstar footballers and geez it sucks that they’ve ended up with ‘a poof’ as well. There was no attempt at satire, we were just meant to laugh because it was funny that the almighty joey johns could have a gay brother. What about some kid coming up through grade who might be gay, or might be unsure of his sexuality? He’s just been told, by the main NRL show, that there’s something wrong with him. Ian Roberts strikes me as a strong guy (and i don’t mean physically) but not everyone has the personality to do what he did. I don’t know if it warrents a court case, but it was cheap and deserves to be focused on.

  7. Im gay and you can only take so much “s**t” before you say enough is enough. Most homophobes are actually very lucky that they get away with what they say and do.

  8. Struggling to leave the 20th century lol

    Last time I checked Rugby League was the only footy code in Aus that has had an openly gay man playing the game.

    These comments made by the Hawthorn AFL boss are far more disturbing heraldsun.com.au/news/national/kennett-gay-storm/story-e6frf7l6-1111117025363

  10. The thing is that this was probably written by 9 ‘comedy’ writers who often get bagged on The Footy Show after they’ve done one of their skits.
    It’s not like Sam Newman’s defamatory comments that were made against women.

  11. It’s bad enough having Christians whinging about everything they don’t like on TV – the last thing we need is for the gay rights lobby to lower themselves to the same level. Unfortunately for this Mr burns fellow, nobody has a “right” not to be offended. My advise for him is exactly the same as my advise for the Christian groups – if you don’t like something you see on the TV, turn it off! Censorship is censorship, whether it’s coming from delusional religious zealots or misguided gay rights activists, whose cause I actually agree with. The likes of Gary Burns should spend their time fighting real instances where gay people hav their rights violated, not making up new “rights” out of thin air, in an attempt to force their views onto everyone else.

  12. Given that Matthew Johns plans to resurrect many of his old characters for his new show, I wonder if Seven is nervous. I didn’t think we’d be seeing his obnoxious, beer swilling, sexist ocker characters from the Footy Show ever again following *that* scandal.

  13. the sydney convicts are a rugby union as was pinted out on that post, Rugby League is still a game stuck in blokesworld with no consideration for the exterior society, hence so much scandal. The Rugby Union society is inclusive of all genders, sexual prferences and body shapes. IGRAB (international gay rugby association and board) mostly push for inclusive Rugby Union games, not much to do with rugby league really.

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