Darren Wick,the recently departed head of Channel Nine’s news and current affairs division,has been accused of engaging in drunken,lecherous behaviour in what furious staff say was “an open secret” for more than a decade.
Three women have now alleged to this masthead that Wick,the powerful news and current affairs chief for the past 13 years,brazenly groped them in public view of their colleagues.
The claims cap off a torrid week for Nine,the publisher of this masthead,amid reports of Wick’s alleged inappropriate behaviour and staff anger at how management has dealt with the situation.
Through tears,one woman told this masthead on Friday how,as a young reporter who had just got her break working at Nine,she had headed off to the network’s ratings party at a city pub.
“At one point in the night,in full view of everyone,he started feeling my arse,” she said.
As the night went on,she witnessed Wick do the same to other women. “It was obviously utterly shocking to me,but he was my boss with a huge amount of power.”
What added to her horror was that Wick’s behaviour occurred in a room full of staff.
“He was not hiding it. Like everyone could see it,” she recalled. The woman began to cry as she recalled how demoralised she felt.
“To think you’re hired for what you can bring in terms of skills and experience” only to realise “you’re just a piece of arse for him.”
The reporter ended up leaving Nine because she felt Wick “was untouchable”. Her view was that “because everyone knew,and allowed it” a complaint would only have harmed her own career.
“Other than play along with his game,and I just didn’t want my work to be at all associated with his whims,” she said. One of her greatest regrets remains “that I haven’t said anything and I didn’t complain”.
A second woman alleged Wick’s “alcohol-fuelled grope sessions” occurred at public functions such as staff Christmas parties,the Logies and functions to celebrate TV ratings.
“It wasn’t done in a back corner. It was like done in front of staff,” said the woman,who asked not to be named as she feared her on-air role at the network may be jeopardised. She described her then-boss’ behaviour as “sneaky arse-rubbing,or a close lingering hug or the weird kiss”.
Not only did it happen to her,but the woman watched as he did the same thing to other female employees. “He’d just be standing there in conversation,and then you just see his hand kind of on her back and then slowly working its way down,” she recalled.
“You could set your watch to it that he would be inappropriately drunk every year at the Logies,” said a male reporter. “It was just a known quantity … that he was going to be there and be incoherently drunk and behaving inappropriately.”
‘It was just inappropriate’
The reporter said that he would “have his arms around women ... it was just inappropriate,especially for someone in his position”.
Wick,whose empire included the national news division and current affairs programs60 Minutes,A Current Affair andToday,was allegedly “a repeat offender” at the Logies,staff have claimed. The TV veteran had been at the network for 29 years.
His battle with alcohol saw Wick narrowly escape jail in 2021 after being caught drink-driving following a staff function. His blood-alcohol reading was more than four times the legal limit. After a stint in rehab,Wick returned to work. Staff say Wick stayed sober,and there have been no reported incidents of inappropriate behaviour since.
Multiple newsroom employees said that in the cutthroat world of television news,staff were afraid to speak up because they were afraid for their own positions.
A third woman,one of several women Wick allegedly groped at the Logies over the years,said that Wick was well-known as a “rotten drunk” who would get “handsy”.
“He kept fondling my neck in front of everyone. I could see all these people staring at us,and I was so humiliated and embarrassed,” she said of his behaviour at the Logies.
The woman said it was difficult to know how to handle the situation because Wick,as her boss,was the person who “holds the key to your future”.
She said that after hiding in the bathroom to avoid him,when she left the Logies after-party about 2am,“he was hiding behind a pillar” waiting for her.
Wick told her he had lost his key and needed to sleep in her room. The woman organised a replacement key and helped Wick,who could barely stand,up to his room.
When he tried to pull her into his room,“I ended up shoving him in and slammed the door and then ran to the lift.” She said once she got to her room,“I was bawling my eyes out.”
She said she didn’t feel as though she could complain as he wasn’t just her boss,“he’s the head of news and current affairs in the entire country”.
‘Open secret’
A senior figure in the network said Wick’s behaviour was an “open secret”,and there was a feeling among female colleagues “that a complaint would have been weaponised against them”.
Another Nine TV personality said that it was well-known to avoid sitting next to Wick at functions involving alcohol. “For f--- sake,don’t let me be sitting next to him,” women would say to each other,she said.
Sky News reported this week that one of the network’s on-air stars alleged that Wick had “sexually harassed her in public,groping her and breathing heavily down her neck”.
In January,the network received a formal complaint about Wick relating to a historical incident. It is understood that only three executives were aware of the complaint,one of which was chief executive Mike Sneesby.
It’s understood that Wick was asked to step aside while an external review was conducted into the complaint. Months stretched on with no word from Wick and no decision about his future.
Even though the allegation could not be substantiated due to the complainant declining to be interviewed,Nine management ultimately decided there was no way back for Wick.
Late one Friday in March,Wick announced he had decided it was time to leave the newsroom,claiming he was “tired”.
“Some of you are aware that I have taken a few weeks off to think about my future. And after many long beach walks and even longer conversations,I know in my heart that this is the right time for me to step down and leave Nine ... I’m tired and need a rest,” said Wick.
It is understood that the complainant is now taking legal action against the network.
After Sky and News Corp reports this week of allegations against Wick,Sneesby told all staff in an email:“It is important for everyone at Nine to know that we don’t tolerate inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and want to know if there is inappropriate behaviour occurring so that it can be addressed promptly.”
‘They’ve played us for fools’
Sneesby’s email landed badly in the newsroom,with many women angry at what they claim is management expressing shock at the recent allegations despite the inappropriate behaviour being widely known. Staff were also upset at management’s failure to be upfront about the reasons for Wick’s departure in March.
“They’ve played us all for fools,pretending that there was no issue and that he’s just on holiday,” said one television employee. She said his appalling behaviour had been there for all to see for years. “They certainly didn’t do anything to stop it,or they just brushed it off as ‘It’s just Wicky’.”
In response to questions from this masthead,Sneesby said:“It is distressing to hear about historic behaviour issues that have caused women in our business distress.
“We have worked hard in recent years to establish a culture of respect across the business. We do not cover up issues,but if a complaint is raised,we must adhere to a fair process.”
Sneesby is returning to Australia early from a planned holiday in the US to deal with the crisis.
Comment was sought from Wick.
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