Gay rights campaigner loses Footy Show case
Updated Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:30am AEDT
Sydney gay rights activist Gary Burns has lost his vilification complaint against Channel Nine's Footy Show.
Mr Burns lodged the complaint about a skit on the show in May last year called My Three Sons.
It was a mock documentary in which the Johns brothers joked about having a third brother, Elton Johns, who was gay.
It featured a scene where their father took his gay son back to hospital saying, "I want to return this, it's faulty."
At the time, Matthew Johns was the star of the show.
The Administrative Decisions Tribunal found that the skit was tasteless, offensive and unfortunate but that it was not capable of inciting hatred or severe contempt or serious ridicule of homosexual men, including Mr Burns.
The gay rights activist says he is gobsmacked by the decision and plans to lodge an appeal.
"It's not acceptable to refer to people of a certain characteristic as faulty and the ADT tribunal members not having the courage to substantiate it, to bring about a change in the way people portray or want to ridicule minority groups," he said.
