TV newsman Robert Ovadia has hit out at Seven Network’s “evil” bosses after his own daughter asked him a heartbreaking question following his sudden sacking.
Seven alleged in federal court last week that “another 13 women” have filed complaints against the former star reporter.
The allegation prompted Ovadia’s teenage daughter to ask her father if people would now think her “father is a rapist.”
On Tuesday, Ovadia, 51, made the scathing comment in a social media post, saying he was now preparing for more accusations in the increasingly heated feud.
“I expect more smear campaigns in the coming months as this evil company (for which I have risked my life and safety many times) now seeks to further destroy my reputation,” he added.
Ovadia revealed that he also received a chilling death threat from a man who posted images of weapons on his Instagram page.
“Hey ringworm,” was the disturbing message to Ovadia.
“When do you want to be brutally murdered?”
Fired Seven reporter Robert Ovadia has received both a death threat and a heartbreaking question
Robert Ovadia called Seven Network ‘evil’ in his social media post
Ovadia said he has also been inundated with messages of support since Seven filed the new allegations.
The Walkley Award-winning journalist has repeatedly and emphatically denied any misconduct or inappropriate behaviour during his 23-year career at Seven.
He posted a series of the messages he received, adding: ‘Feel free to scroll through some recent interactions with women I’ve worked with versus Seven’s Propaganda Unit.
‘I can be rude, I can be blunt, I can be annoying, my humor is dark – 20 years of being surrounded by trauma and danger does all that to you.
‘But I do NOT abuse women. The Four Corners hatchet job at least got one thing right – the Seven Network is evil.’
Ovadia was fired in June over two image swaps within the Seven editorial staff and filed a lawsuit in federal court for wrongful termination.
His legal claim against Seven Network and Seven West Media newsroom and editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie was heard last week at the first meeting on the management of his file.
At that meeting, Seven’s lawyers claimed that complaints against the 51-year-old chief reporter have increased since his dismissal.
In support of Ovadia, a former female colleague posted the following message: ‘All the girls I worked with loved your playfulness… the sassy, big kid side of you where you never knew what was going to happen except that it (work) was going to be fun and that was made a lot easier by us all interacting like that!
‘Without that, there would be long, depressing nights. You’re the furthest thing from a bully or something. This is all so incomprehensible.
“We don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t be yourself because of such ridiculous allegations. It’s incredibly unfair.”
Fired Seven reporter Robert Ovadia has received a death threat and his own teenage daughter has asked a heartbreaking question following his sacking
Ovadia’s supporters have come forward since the former veteran reporter filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Seven and his boss Anthony de Ceglie (above)
In another comment sent to Ovadia, a male supporter wrote: “I put you in the same category as your former colleague Chris Reason because you are a seasoned professional.
“I, like many others, do not believe the stories that are circulating about you. Keep up the good fight and may you win.”
When Seven fired the veteran Sydney reporter, the network said it would launch an internal investigation into allegations of “inappropriate conduct”.
Ovadia was initially accused of taking doctored photos and a caricature of a woman, “Person A,” and sending them to that person. According to his court filing, this did not amount to sexual harassment.
Two of the images of a cartoon woman representing a colleague are dismissed by the reporter as just one of a series of exchanges between reporters in the Seven newsroom
The death threat was sent to Ovadia by a social media user who posted multiple images of weapons, money and luxury cars on his own Instagram page
He is also said to have sent a photo from the internet of a flaccid penis to ‘person B’. This photo was not sexual in nature and did not constitute sexual harassment, according to documents from his lawyers.
“No reasonable employer could have judged that the conduct amounted to sexual harassment, the photo was not conduct of a sexual nature,” his summons said.
According to Seven’s lawyer Vanja Bulut, the network had email evidence of complaints about Ovadia’s behavior from another thirteen women last week.
“After the applicant was dismissed, a further 13 women made complaints about his conduct which are now being investigated,” Bulut told Federal Court Judge Elizabeth Raper.
‘The applicant has been informed of this.’
Ovadia’s lawyers argued in court that their client’s conduct did not amount to sexual harassment or serious misconduct and claimed his dismissal was wrongful.
