Alan Jones has issued a ‘clarification’ regarding his comments on air yesterday, in which he described New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden as a “joke” and suggested Scott Morrison should “shove a sock down [Ardern’s] throat”.
The 2GB presenter issued a statement yesterday, explaining what he meant was “Scott Morrison should tell Ms Ardern to ‘put a sock in it.'”
The shock jock made the comments while discussing the current Pacific Islands Forum taking place in Tuvalu, where regional leaders, including Ardern, have urged Australia to reduce its coal emissions.
As well as clarifying the sock comment, Jones also took the opportunity to defend himself from his critics.
“There are many people who would relish the opportunity to misinterpret things that I have said as we have seen online this afternoon. Of course I would not wish any harm to Jacinda Ardern,” Jones said.
“This wilful misinterpretation distracts from my point that she was wrong about climate change and wrong about Australia’s contribution to carbon dioxide levels.”
Despite the clarification, Jones’s comments still drew widespread condemnation, including from the Australian Prime Minister.
“I find that very disappointing,” Morrison said. “I mean, I have two daughters. So you can expect that’s how I would feel personally about it.”
Prime Minister Ardern said: “I don’t know that I’m going to give that the light of day. I think I’ll just leave it where it is.”
