George FM fined $8k for 'do-nothing b****es' comment

The BSA has upheld a complaint against George FM's Thane Kirby and Kara Rickards.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against George FM, after its breakfast hosts named and shamed two women as "do-nothing b***es" last year.

The segment, which aired in October 2015, was found to have breached privacy, as well as good taste and decency. The station has been ordered to pay $8000 in compensation.

The complaint was filed after hosts Thane Kirby and Kara Rickards began discussing social media and people who post photos of themselves in underwear on Instagram, who they referred to as "do-nothing b****es".

"They just sit around and post hot naked pictures of themselves on Instagram," said Rickards, who went on to describe such people as "rank" and "hoes".

The pair then asked for callers to nominate a "do-nothing b****" for them to stage a social media intervention.

A caller then passed on the name and details of a person, who was named on-air and contacted by the hosts, with Kirby telling her she had "spectacular breasts".

The woman went on to explain that she was proud of her body, having struggled with a history of anorexia.

"I thought girls should be empowered, girls should show off their body if they love their body and I love my body, so that's why I Instagram it," she said.

After the call disconnected, Rickards followed up by saying: "Sorry if the word 'slut' offended you, but there's kind of no euphemism for that word. I guess you could say, 'used car with high k's'?"

She then continued: "Flashy on the outside, gross on the inside?"

The BSA found that the segment, which ran for approximately 15 minutes, showed a "severe lack of understanding of the standards" and had named and shamed the woman.

- nzherald.co.nz