Lisa Wilkinson has personally apologised to Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after she was caught mispronouncing her name in a leaked tape.
Senator Price lashed Wilkinson on Friday after audio emerged of her making comments about the senator and struggling to pronounce her name during a pre-interview with Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz.
In a statement released on Friday night the former Project host said: “I sincerely apologise to Senator Price for any offence I may have caused.
“The conversation was private and not intended to appear as it has out of context and in the public arena.
“The tenor of our conversation was about the need for real, genuine change within the Liberal party, and that too many of their female pre-selections were in unwinnable positions.”
In a leaked part of a pre-recorded interview with Higgins, Wilkinson pointed out the coalition had “preselected over 20 new and wonderfully diverse and strong female candidates like, and what’s her name, Nam … Nampinjumba? (sic). She’s an Indigenous woman.”
In response, Mr Sharaz laughed and said: “She clearly got in. Clearly it was a safe seat.”
“That’s the thing, it was – as soon as I looked at it I thought, ‘Oh, you’re joking’,” Wilkinson said.
Mr Sharaz added: “They’ve been preselected in unwinnable seats.”
Mr Llewellyn joined in with a joke about the Coalition preselecting Ms Price, saying: “See, we know brown people.”
Mr Sharaz followed, “It’s like, ‘I’m not racist, I have a black friend’. It’s that argument.”
Wilkinson closed the chat, saying: “And our cleaner’s black.”
Ms Higgins is not heard engaging in this part of the conversation.
On Friday, Senator Price hit back, demanding Wilkinson apologise to her.
Senator Price said Wilkinson was living in an ivory tower and was far removed from real issues pertaining to Indigenous Australians.
“There are derogatory and racist comments … what would you expect from individuals who belong to the woke,” she told 2GB.
“The Project has never been interested in the view of a conservative Indigenous woman from outback Australia. Not once has it demonstrated interest in the concerns I’ve raised.”
Senator Price said what had offended her the most was Wilkinson’s suggestion she was some sort of diversity pick.
“I would absolutely expect an apology from the 10 network, from Lisa Wilkinson herself.
That would be the decent thing,” she said. “Unfortunately, this woke culture allows racism to exist in plain sight.”
The chief of Channel 10’s owner, Paramount Australia, Beverly McGarvey called Senator Price to apologise to her personally on Friday.
It’s understood McGarvey said the discussion of race did not reflect the values the network stood for and that it shouldn’t have happened.