Three months ago, George Hook made incendiary remarks regarding rape on his Newstalk show.
In the aftermath, he was accused of victim-blaming, suspended, and then ultimately resigned from his weekday radio slot.
Now, however, it has emerged that Mr Hook will be returning to the Newtalk this weekend. A running order on Saturday shows that the veteran host will be behind the mic for Hook’s Saturday Sit-In.
The show will run from 8am until 10am following the hour-long Pat Kenny Show.
Presenter George Hook will return to Newstalk with a Saturday morning show called "Hook's Saturday Sit-In" from this weekend #GeorgeHook #Newstalk
— Jennifer O'Brien (@Jen_OBrien1) January 4, 2018
Back in September, Mr Hook was discussing the story of an alleged rape of a woman involving an Olympic swimmer when he said:
“When you look deeper into the story, you have to ask certain questions. Why does a girl who just meets a fella in a bar go back to a hotel room? She’s only just barely met him, she has no idea of his health conditions, she has no idea who he is, she has no idea of what dangers he might pose, but modern day social activity means that she goes back with him, then is SURPRISED when someone comes into the room and rapes her. […] But is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?”
A day later, Newstalk Newstalk released a full apology on their website with Managing Editor, Patricia Monahan saying that the comments made were “totally wrong and inappropriate and should never have been made.”
Additionally, George Hook has apologised for his comments. He said: “I wish to apologise unreservedly for comments I made about rape on my radio programme on Newstalk yesterday.
“It was unacceptable to suggest in any way that blame could be attributed to victims of rape. I apologise for the comments which caused hurt and offence, and for this I am truly sorry.”
