News

Alan Jones ‘regrets’ using ‘n-word’ on air

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has used Twitter to apologise for using the n-word on air when discussing the Liberal Party’s ongoing leadership issues.

At the time of using the offensive slur on air, Jones said he would not “yield to people who tell us that words in the language are forbidden”.

Jones’ 2GB program broadcast from 5:30am to 9am

Jones was discussing the battle for the Prime Ministership between incumbent Malcolm Turnbull and challenger Peter Dutton, when he said Mathias Cormann was the “n***** in the woodpile”.

The phrase can be traced back to times of slavery in the USA, when it was used to describe African-American slaves who escaped their captors.

The audio can be heard on news.com.au, where Jones says: :“The n****r in the woodpile here, if I can use that expression, and I’m not going to yield to certain people who tell us that words in the language are forbidden, the person who’s playing hard to get, is Mathias Cormann.”

After the broadcast, however, Jones took to Twitter to say “we all make mistakes”.

Jones said he will elaborate more on his mistake tomorrow, but continued to argue for more honesty in people’s actions – something he believes is not being displayed by the government at the moment.

Jones’ show runs from 5:30am to 9am on Macquarie Media’s 2GB in Sydney. In the most recent radio ratings survey, Jones had a 16.6% audience share, up from 15.3% in the prior survey, and well ahead of nearest competitor, Kiis FM’s Kyle & Jackie O, who sit on 11.0%.

He posted the statement on Twitter at 11:51am.

Macquarie Media declined to comment.

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