Australian commentator Alan Jones denies indecent assault allegations
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Powerful Australian conservative commentator Alan Jones denies allegations he indecently assaulted several younger men and plans legal action to clear his name, his law firm said Thursday.
In a lengthy article, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers cited multiple men who made allegations they had been groped or sexually harassed by Jones.
Asked for comment by AFP, Jones' law firm, Mark O’Brien Legal, sent a statement describing the allegations as "demonstrably false".
The statement, which the firm said was on behalf of Jones, said it had received instructions for the "commencement of defamation proceedings".
For more than 30 years, Jones was a household name, confidant of conservative prime ministers and was even appointed the national rugby coach.
During his career, Jones caused outrage on innumerable occasions, including denying Covid-19 was a pandemic and suggesting violence against female politicians including then New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
An Australian tribunal found that in 2005 Jones had incited hatred of Lebanese Australians, fuelling racially charged riots in Sydney.
Jones, who repeatedly tried and failed to win elected office, left his influential Sydney radio show at 2GB in 2020.