Sky News' Ross Cameron Fired After Racist Comments While Defending China

Sky News Australia, in a statement Thursday, said it sacked presenter Ross Cameron after he described Chinese people as “black-haired, slanty-eyed [and] yellow skinned” while defending China against allegations it was attempting to infiltrate Australia’s intelligence network.

The show, “Outsiders”, which Cameron co-hosts and was aired Tuesday, was met with heavy backlash from the viewers and activists groups. The former Liberal MP used to co-host the nightly program with commentator and magazine editor Rowan Dean.

On Tuesday, a discussion about Australia’s relationship with China and its potential economic benefits was conducted. Cameron was defending China against allegations when he made the comments about Chinese people while praising its culture and history.

“And I am just saying to you the Chinese civilization is the oldest continuing civilization in the world, OK, it is not going anywhere,” he said in the show. “1.4 billion people – it has got about a sixth of the world’s population. All of them are studying English.”

“If you go to the Disneyland in Shanghai, on any typical morning of the week, you’ll see 20,000 black haired, slanty eyed, yellow skinned Chinese, desperate to get into Disneyland because they like and enjoy and embrace many aspects of western culture," he added.

Sky News has since removed all content related to the episode from all platforms.

“I have today advised Ross Cameron that his contract with Sky News has been terminated,” Paul Whittaker, Sky News Chief Executive, said in the statement. “Sky News is committed to robust discussion and debate, however, this language is totally unacceptable and has no place on any of our platforms, nor in modern Australian society. All content from the episode dated 30 October has been removed from all Sky News platforms. We apologise for any hurt or offence caused by the remarks made by Ross Cameron on the program.”

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald said Australian Media and Communications Authority (the country’s broadcasting regulator) received complaints regarding the incident, but instructed complainants to approach the broadcaster (Sky News) in the first instance.

Though all the content related to the episode was taken off, many, including activist group Sleeping Giants, managed to record the commentary. The group has posted an audio clip of the commentary on Twitter and is campaigning to hold the media outlet accountable by putting pressure on the advertisers who sponsor the program.

Sky News is no stranger to controversies though. Earlier this year, the channel hosted far-right extremist Blair Cottrell, who holds Nazi sympathies, the Guardian noted. The show was later canceled, and the channel issued a public apology regarding the incident as well.

Two of the three original hosts of “Outsiders” have now been fired for offensive comments. Labor leader Mark Latham was fired in 2017 after he tried to speculate the sexuality of a high school student on-air last year.