Australia’s peak body for travel agents is under pressure to sack its CEO, after a foul tirade about A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) CEO Jayson Westbury made the comments last Friday, during a webinar with members.
“I won’t ever be watching it (Channel 9’s ACA) again. I think that Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face, and I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldn’t want to invoke (sic) any violence on anyone,” he said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
“But, I mean, some of the behaviour and some of the language that’s being used on that program is just outrageous.”
The comments were made after A Current Affair reported on a family that had been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after a travel agent refused to grant a refund, despite the COVI-19 outbreak virtually ceasing all travel.
The webinar has since been removed from the AFTA website.
However, pressure is now mounting on the industry body to take action following the comments.
Jayson Westbury advocates violence against Tracy Grimshaw because she did her job and he doesn't like that. I hope that travel agents are looking at their dwindling fortunes and realising that this tool just delivered the headshot to their futures. #SackHim https://t.co/PmJsXIfMcf
— Autumn Leaves (@ShadesOfGorgon) May 12, 2020
Jayson Westbury, the Chief Executive of AFTA, needs to be immediately sacked for his vile, disgusting comments encouraging violence against @Channel9's Tracy Grimshaw. Not asked to resign. AFTA needs to sack him. Threats of violence against women are utterly unacceptable. #VAW
— Peter Murphy (@PeterWMurphy1) May 12, 2020
Jayson Westbury should be removed from his leadership role. Commercial tv current affairs suck but Australia can not tolerate this behaviour. #sackjayson https://t.co/NykxG51DQ2
— Kerry proud to be a lefty💉💉💉 (@consult_kerry) May 12, 2020
In a release shared by AFTA on Wednesday morning, Westbury apologised for the comments.
“My comments relating to Ms Grimshaw involved a very poor choice of words. I apologise for that choice and accept the language used was completely inappropriate,” he said.
