Sky News Australia has apologised and launched a review of its new Sunday night program Freya Fires Up after a UK-based guest, Ryan Williams, made a string of Islamophobic remarks while appearing on-air with raw bacon draped across his shirt.
Williams was introduced by host Freya Leach as a “social media sensation” and “conservative political strategist.”
During the live broadcast, he claimed he wore bacon “to protect him” from terrorists.
As Calum Jaspan details in The Sydney Morning Herald, he went on to suggest Britain faces daily threats of Islamic invasion and wrongly asserted Birmingham has a Muslim majority. According to the 2021 census, 34 per cent of Birmingham residents identify as Christian and 29.9 per cent as Muslim.
Ryan Williams
At one point, Leach interjected: “It’s important to preface that the majority of Muslims don’t support that. We have seen here in Australia at least we’ve got some great moderate Muslims, but I think it’s up to them to condemn the elements of the culture or religion that are more extreme.”
Leach later made a brief on-air apology before cutting to another guest, conservative strategist Joey Mannarino.
Soon after, Sky cut Williams from the segment and later confirmed that his appearance would not be republished on its platforms.
Williams, however, has republished the video on his Instagram page, where it quickly attracted more than 90,000 likes.
Ryan Williams
In a statement, a Sky News Australia spokesperson said: “The program took immediate action during the live broadcast to cut off the guest. The content was not republished on any of our platforms. We recognise the harm such rhetoric can cause and take full responsibility for this failure in our editorial processes.”
The network also confirmed it has begun a review of Freya Fires Up, including guest booking and vetting processes, to prevent similar incidents in future.
Mediaweek has reached out to Sky News Australia for comment.