TV channel apologizes for sexualising MP's photo

An “unreserved” apology was issued by 9News Melbourne on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, this Australian TV channel showed on screen a modified photo of Georgie Purcell, Member of Parliament for the State of Victoria. Her breasts were almost enlarged and her dress shrunken.

Incorrect dimensions

“I went through a lot yesterday. But having a media photoshop my body and my clothes is not on the agenda,” replied the MP in X. To back up her point, Georgie Purcell posted the original photo and an altered version of it to 9News Melbourne. In the shot shown on screen, her The sleeveless white dress turned out to be a halter top and the skirt revealed her midsection while revealing the dimensions of her bust.

“Look at the enlarged breasts and the clothes that reveal too much of my body. I can't even imagine that happening to a male MP. What's going on? », added the elected official. Channel director Hugh Nailon, 9News Melbourne's film department, on duck hunting Found photo online to illustrate article Elected MP for Animal Justice Party of Northern Australia, State of Victoria.

A “graphic error”

“Usually, the image was resized to fit our specifications,” Hugh Nylon tried to defend himself. He added: During this process, Photoshop automation created an image that did not correspond to the original photograph. According to him, the popular photo-editing software “did not meet the high editorial standards we apply, and we apologize unconditionally to Ms. Purcell.” The director concluded by noting that it was a simple “graphic error.”

In a statement to Australian media, an Adobe spokesperson immediately denied these comments: “Any changes to this image will require human intervention and approval. » For her part, Ms Purcell felt that such an error could never have been made in a photograph of Victoria's premier, Jacinda Allen.

MP who was affected by this incident

“If the software had spit out a photo of Jacinda Allen showing her navel, I imagine they would have noticed, but I didn't,” he lamented into the microphone of public broadcaster ABC. The Member of Parliament said that if the incident had affected her, it could affect other women even more and it should not happen again. “These are things that would never happen to our male colleagues,” she reiterated.

In a statement to the press, the Premier of the State of Victoria, Jacinda Allen, was keen to support her colleague: “This is not the way to present a woman, and a woman occupying a public office, representing and participating in the population. Let's think about the message it sends every day in public discourse (…) , especially for young women. »