Stan Grant has taken a dig at Ben Fordham after the shock jock criticised his decision to eject a pro-Russian audience member from Q&A last week.
Fordham said Grant “lost control of his own show” when he asked the man to leave.
The veteran journalist backed both himself and his decision on the night, calling Fordham’s jabs “disappointing”.
“I put my journalistic career up against his (Fordham’s) any day,” Grant told
“Whenever I’ve met Ben Fordham, he’s always been polite and friendly. I don’t know whether to take that at face value, but it’s disappointing.”
The event in question unfolded on last Thursday’s live broadcast, with the questioner echoing Russian propaganda justifying the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Believe it or not, there are a lot of Russians here and around the world that support what Putin is doing in the (sic) Ukraine – myself included,” the questioner said.
After attempting to deflect the question and allowing the show to move on to a different topic, Grant returned to the man, forcing him to leave in a sensational on air confrontation that left the host visibly shaken.
“Something has been bothering me … people here have been talking about family who are suffering and people who are dying. Can I just say – I’m just not comfortable with you being here. Could you please leave?” Grant said.
Speaking on his 2GB talk back program on Friday morning, Fordham suggested Grant was pressured by producers to remove the man.
“Someone got in Stan’s ear, because it took him 20 minutes and then he decided Sasha had to go,” Fordham said.
“It sounded to me like Stan Grant loxjmtzywst control of his own show.”
Grant rejected suggestions the decision was not his own, saying, “As if. What am I – 12?”
“It troubled me that someone in an ABC studio was saying that they supported an illegal invasion where people were dying,” Grant explained.
“People who sit there and take potshots know nothing about it. The remarks were distressing to people in the room. I wanted to have a proper discussion about the points raised, but it troubled me. We all walk out of there safe and sound, but people in Ukraine are not. You’ve got people dying right now.”
However, Fordham questioned the decision to remove the man at all, saying the whole idea of the program was to have “robust debate”
“Obviously, we don’t support what Russia’s doing, but I don’t think this guy … was advocating violence,” Fordham said.
“He’s a Russian living in Australia and he’s standing up for his own country.”
