ABC star Louise Milligan has hit back at internet trolls with a powerful message following the release of her shocking Four Corners feature on Channel Seven.
The award-winning journalist revealed she had been attacked online after the 50-minute episode titled “Don’t Speak” aired on Monday night.
The investigation exposed allegations of sexism, misogyny and harassment at Channel Seven and current and former colleagues came forward to share their stories.
“To the people sending messages calling me a ‘slut,’ denigrating my looks, making horrible and untrue insults about the men in my life, you are a small minority,” Milligan posted on social media on Wednesday.
‘You are not devaluing me, you are devaluing yourselves. I am deeply concerned about the plight of the women in your lives. I hope you are safe.
Milligan said the men working on the investigation had not been attacked.
“My male colleagues (including the two men on our Don’t Speak editorial team) don’t understand this. But on the other side of the scale are all the excellent people we’ve heard from who support public interest journalism and value women,” she continued.
“Thank you all. You guys are awesome.”
ABC star Louise Milligan (pictured) has hit back at internet trolls with a powerful message following the publication of her shocking Four Corners revelation.
The episode, titled ‘Don’t Speak’, exposed allegations of sexism, misogyny and harassment, which the show said were ‘extensive’ at Channel 7 (pictured)
Milligan revealed that his team had been overwhelmed by the response from former and current Seven employees since the episode aired.
“Thanks to everyone who continues to contact me in response to #Seven. It will take time to respond to everyone,” she wrote on Tuesday.
“We have received an overwhelming outpouring of current and former employees from across the country who have contacted us – from technical staff to journalists, producers and presenters.”
ABC says more than 200 current and former employees were interviewed for the show following a series of controversies at the network.
The week has not improved for Seven following Monday’s explosive Four Corners investigation, with pre-tax profits falling by a third to $187 million from $45 million for the full year.
“There’s no doubt that FY24 was a difficult year for Seven West Media and probably for many in the industry,” managing director and CEO Jeff Howard told investors on a call.
The company is home to some of Australia’s top media professionals, Howard said, but some staff have been told to leave.
“The actions of some individuals do not reflect the values, behaviour and attitude of the company as a whole,” he said.
“We are focused on building a stronger, high-performance culture that enables our great people to thrive and where unacceptable behavior is not tolerated.”
In April, the company’s previous CEO and managing director, James Warburton, resigned earlier than expected, ending a scandal-plagued tenure.
This followed allegations heard in the Federal Court that the Seven Network paid illicit drugs and sex workers to secure an interview with former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.