Jessica Rowe has never been afraid to speak her mind but in her new tell-all autobiography she opens up about the moment a news director staged an alcohol-fuelled attack on her in the workplace – an incident she was encouraged to keep her mouth shut about.
Just weeks after the Studio 10 presenter accused former Channel Nine boss, Eddie McGuire of “making her life hell,” Rowe has told of another incident where a different male colleague came back from a boozy lunch and made unwanted advances toward her, and how she was discouraged by a TV director from taking the matter further.
In her forthcoming book, Is This My Beautiful Life?, the mother-of-two recalled the harrowing incident which occurred in an office corridor.
“He pressed his body against me but I managed to get away into one of the editing suites, where I rang one of the senior executives in tears,” Jessica wrote.
“He counselled me and suggested that it wasn’t a big deal; I got the distinct impression I should keep my mouth shut if I wanted to stay working in that newsroom.”
While the instance was despicable by any measure, it came as no great shock to the veteran television presenter.
“I knew that working in the media could be tough and it wasn’t a career for the faint-hearted. I also understood how brutal it could be for women,” she commented.
Adding: “Commercial television is still primarily run by men, and some of them have very outdated, sexist views.”
Rowe did not specifically name the newsroom where the alleged assault occurred but since starting her TV career the journalist has worked for all three Australian commercial TV networks, Nine, Seven’s regional network Prime and Ten.
Jessica Rowe with husband Peter Overton.
The 45-year-old – who is married to fellow journalist Peter Overton – was axed as a co-host on Nine’s Today Show in 2006 when McGuire was reported to have wanted to “bone” her – the crude term was allegedly intended to mean “fire”.
Jessica Rowe with her book: ‘Is this my beautiful life?”
Earlier this month, when the Studio 10 panel were debating the controversy surrounding McGuire’s description of Muslim Victorian sports minister John Eren as a “soccer loving Turkish born mussie”, Rowe hurled into a contemptuous attack on the Collingwood president.
“Eddie McGuire has form, and I can talk very much from personal experience,” Rowe said.
“The way he allegedly used language against me in the past and the way he has used language to describe Adam Goodes… It’s highly, highly inappropriate, and then to try and explain it away as ‘oh, that was a brain snap or a brain freeze’ – no, that’s not on.
“I think you have to realise that when you are in a particular position and you use language like that, you think about the context of the language and I think it is racist, I think it is offensive.”
Rowe continued: “If he is not smart enough, and I don’t think he is, to moderate his language depending on the sort of forum he is in, he had to take the flak for it.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a lot of good to say about that man because he made my life hell.”
McGuire has always denied the comments.
Jessica’s upcoming memoir also touches on the working mums struggle with post-natal depression – a cause she has been a devoted advocate for.
