'We don't want our taxes to fund Ricky Caruana's PBS slot': Women's lobby

Updated 5.53pm

The women's lobby on Friday slammed PBS' decision to allocate airtime to podcaster Ricky Caruana, whom they said persisted in publishing "mediaeval, and blatantly misogynistic opinions on social media platforms".

Caruana's new programme RICKY debates will air on Fridays after the 8pm news on TVM, a slot prized by producers and advertisers alike.

On Thursday, Caruana blasted feminists in a video on his Facebook page, suggesting, among others, that workplaces function better if gender-segregated and implying that women should stay at home to care for children.

Reacting, the Malta Women’s Lobby lamented that women should not have to finance their own demeaning treatment through public funds. The lobby urged PBS to urgently review how such decisions are made and who benefits from them.

In a statement, the MWL said the mandate of public service media was not merely to entertain, provoke or satisfy populist and partisan interests, but to uphold the public interest, grounded in fairness, factual integrity, and respect for human rights, including women’s rights.

The lobby said Caruana appeared to have no credentials or training in media or journalism. Still, he had been "gifted a public service media platform while persisting in sharing false, mediaeval, and blatantly misogynistic opinions on social media platforms". 

"The national broadcaster, which is supported by taxpayers, women included, is rewarding discrimination with money and visibility.

"PBS is essentially choosing ignorance and hate over knowledge and integrity, as countless women with expertise and lived experience continue to fight for space in the public arena."

The lobby questioned how public funds were being "served on a silver platter" to someone whom they said openly and unashamedly ridiculed women’s contributions to society, dismissed the achievements of feminist movements, promoted the segregation of men and women in the workplace, and trivialised reports of sexual harassment.

"Having unfounded, baseless, and controversial opinions does not equate to deserving airtime that should be utilised to satisfy democratic responsibilities, particularly when these opinions are nothing more than derogatory remarks directed toward half the population.

"What has become of the state broadcaster’s obligation to protect against discrimination and to promote equality? Public service media is duty-bound to act as a counterweight to social division, not a megaphone for it."

The lobby said such sexist, and even harmful outbursts will probably be legitimised and justified as free speech or impartiality.

But free speech does not imply that all viewpoints are equally well-informed, and impartiality does not entail contrasting prejudice with knowledge. A public institution fails the very people it is meant to serve if it is unable to distinguish between a legitimate, informed debate and the propagation of misogyny, the lobby noted.

Caruana's comments did not go down well with pro rector Carmen Sammut either. 

Without referring to Caruana by name, she said women had worked hard to be treated equally.

While she was not scandalised, she was highly disappointed by such discourse and did not want one cent of her taxes to support "such trash".

Shortly after the Malta Women’s Lobby condemned Caruana, the post which triggered their condemnation was no longer publicly available. Caruana instead invited a representative of the lobby onto his podcast to discuss the topic in further detail. 

The podcaster later reinstated the original video, saying his critics were "trying to twist my words".

'A wanna be Andrew Tate lite'

Human Rights lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, meanwhile, compared Caruana to a "wanna be Andrew Tate lite".

She said his opinions on women's rights and equality belonged to at least the last century.

"Being one of those ‘puritani’ ‘femministi’ and ‘vergni’, as Ricky had no qualms calling us, I guess I should just shut up and let the 'capable', 'righteous' men do their thing and go and live far away," she wrote on Facebook.

"You know, just in case I get the sudden urge to have intercourse with one of them and then fabricate sexual harassment because the so-called righteous man, will go off and find another.

"What was I thinking, going off to university, spending nights studying for six straight years, building a career, when I should have stayed at home and had more babies. At least I know my way around the kitchen and working with male colleagues, unlike some who think like him."

'Unacceptable'

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality called on the authorities to ensure that individuals in public roles “uphold standards of correctness and refrain from causing social harm”.

In a statement on Friday evening, the commission expressed “serious concern” over Caruana’s social media posts, without naming him, insisting such comments from a person in an influential public role are “unacceptable”.

“Individuals who occupy official public positions, especially within the broadcasting sector, carry a heightened responsibility due to their influence on public attitudes and perceptions. Promoting the devaluation of women or reinforcing harmful stereotypes that perpetuate social inequalities is unacceptable for anyone, and even more so for those in such influential roles,” the NCPE said.

They added that freedom of expression “does not grant a licence to spread misogynistic narratives”.