Parents have expressed outrage following comments made by Nova radio hosts Kate, Tim and Marty about a child with a rare genetic disorder.
The trio aired a segment on October 14 titled ‘What have you got that’s big?’, following media coverage of a 16-month old US baby with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, which can cause overgrowth of various parts of the body.
Little Paisley Morrison-Johnson was forced to undergo two rounds of life-saving tongue reduction surgery, just to be able to eat, breathe and smile uninhibited.
However, according to the mother of a child in Paisley’s BWS support group, the South Dakota girl became the butt of “cruel and horrible” jokes made by the radio hosts, who reportedly compared her appearance to “a comedy act”.
“I am appalled at you Kate Richie as someone I have followed since my childhood, who is also a mother, that you could make such disgraceful comments about our babies,” Vanessa Whitelaw wrote in a public Facebook post.
“‘A comedy act’ you say. HOW DARE YOU!!!”
As well as suffering similar problems with her tongue, the Melbourne woman’s daughter was also born with her bowel on the outside because it was simply too large to fit inside her tiny body.
Top Comments
really bad,... but why are they only angry with Kate?
"We are sorry you took offence to this material...". No, that is not how the apology should read. More like "We are truly sorry for our ill-informed, thoughtless, cruel comments". Take ownership of your comments, Nova team and don't put it back on the mother.