Karl Stefanovic has blasted French tennis player Elliot Benchetrit for asking a ballgirl to peel a banana during qualifying for the Australian Open.
Asking a ball-person to do that is disgusting.
The story says the guy has blistered, bandaged hands and asked for some help peeling a banana. Don't get me wrong, I am (obviously) outraged and disgusted about it - but I don't understand why helping someone peel a banana is disgusting.
Can anyone please explain?
Yup. A bunch of publicity for a complete tosser.
I don’t like Karl, but that said…
Is it in the Ball Girl’s Job Description?
Probably not as the controlling umpire didn't let it happen.
Job description says she can only assist with balls , not phallic-shaped objects.
Entitled French tennis players coming here asking our ballgirl to peel their banana is disgusting.
But okay if they are not entitled?
I have to say I thought this whole story was ridiculous from the start.
Who cares?
In Australia you don't go outside of your station. You get a job description and you do it.
If only this were true…
That's why Australia cannot go outside its station as a country - exporter of natural resources and outrage stories.
The guy is clearly perverted eating phallic shaped fruit in front of small children. He is a menace to society and must be stopped.
which tennis star?
No 200 something.
Slow news day
Honestly whats the big deal, if i had my hands covered in blisters i'd ask someone else if they could do it, she has every right to say no.
Same. Storm in a teacup. Just Karl trying to make himself feel relevant.
The outraged mob are the ones who are disgusting.
The man obviously tried to peel the banana himself and failed. He asked someone else to do it for him as a favour.
It turned ugly when people inserted whatever intersectionality and connotations they can apply.
Maybe tennis should remove ballgirls/boys and just have Roombas running around. One fewer way for people to stumble into the harassment trap.
PS. Why are you "obviously outraged" about it when you admit you don't understand what's wrong?
Its safer to be outraged.
For popularity, sadly, you may be on to something.
I would find your outrage over outrage outrageous, but alas I outraged myself at the thought…
Karl making himself , the today show , the ball girl ,the tennis player and the 9 coverage of the tennis make the news .
faking outrage over a banana
Don't get me wrong, I am (obviously) outraged and disgusted about it - but I don't understand why helping someone peel a banana is disgusting.
What? You're saying that you're "outraged and disgusted" about it but you don't understand why it's disgusting? So why are you outraged and disgusted? lol
Everyone just needs to grow the f up. I joke around a lot and I can pretty much turn anything dirty. But there's a place and time for the jokes. This is a tennis game and it's a banana. The people kicking up a fuss and turning this whole thing into something about kids and phallic objects out of nowhere are the ones that are disgusting.
Hehehehe. You said banana. Hehe. Hehe.
la la laaaa.. I heard nothing! lol
I though he asked her to 'peel his banana'… that this was some strange euphemism.
But no just an actual banana, that he asked for assistance in peeling.
Its a sad indictment of current day Australia that something so trivial can be turned into an outrage story; and people still pay attention to hypocrites who seek prestige by professing faux concern for others.
The thing about outrage culture is that there's no actual outrage and it's designed to trigger people who get outraged by outrage culture. It's basically clickbait
This is the alleged incident - its even worst than I imagined - https://twitter.com/DufficyRon/status/1219107502526087169
Pray for ballkid
Oh, the player is French.
Crack on with the outrage then.
Candle light vigil at the Town Hall to be held tonight. Anyone coming?
Are we being immature about this and sexualising the otherwise normal act of peeling a banana? Or is it the fact that the player was mistreating a young girl who didn't know better how else to react to the situation?
Because as a female I'm not annoyed about this at all and my thoughts remain the same regardless of the ballperson's gender and I definitely don't agree with the publicity simply due to a ball assistant helping provide a slightly injured player a bit of food at a sporting competition. How does it differ from him asking the ballperson to open a water bottle?
I'm curious to know everyone's thoughts. Had it been a ball boy would this have caused the same, more or less outrage?
The player said that the ballgirl had previously peeled the banana for him prematch but was only caught out during the match I believe at a important point in the set. Obviously if he had been fully able bodied we'd all find that unacceptable. But then if he isn't retired hurt I can understand why he should be able to peel a fruit himself.
Jokes aside, some bananas are actually harder to peel than others.
In that case peeling a banana could be a workplace health and safety issue, considering the play already have blisters from playing maybe the ball person will get blisters from peeling the banana or there is specific computer based training for banana peeling which not all Australians have passed therefore an unacceptable risk. Is banana peeling in the life in Australia test? If it isn't it should.
Just like we still look for criminals to admit into the country we should make sure visitors know what a smashed avo is.
It's just the need for the media to keep us in a state of constant outrage. Click that link, sell that ad. OMG You won't believe what this tennis star made a ball kid do!
Odd request? Yes. "Disgusting act"? Get your mind out of the gutter.
Nobody hack, talking about a boring "sport", on a irrelevant channel watched by nobody.
Fake outrage is modern marketing version of turd polishing. Dont fall for it….
Probably around a million 'nobodies' actually…
Very simple
Monkey's eat Bananas
Giving a Ballgirl a Banana to peel infers she is a Monkey
That means she is being belittled
That requires social outrage
In olden days, someone would have taken the player aside and told them it was inappropriate and next time the only monkey that can peel bananas on court is the umpire.
But today, we have the Monkey's Gang (aka Media Reps) lead by top Monkeys like Karl, who have to scratch their armpits in rage.
I honestly wonder what some people in the media are thinking. Are they ethically and morally okay with writing outrage stories like this?
Or has society become so mentally extremely fragile that soon children will need social services after glancing at the bananas, cucumbers, and eggplants in the fruit and veg section of their local supermarket?
The tennis player's name has been dragged through the mud for a "disgusting act" with a child. Some people won't click through to see the ads and article to find out what actually happened. If I was the player I would be demanding a public apology.
The UN Panel on Outrage Change has confirmed the worst: global levels of outrage may reach the point of no return in 2020.
I am (obviously) outraged and disgusted about it - but I don't understand why helping someone peel a banana is disgusting.
You are or you aren't?
Am I missing something here? Is there more to this story?
I'm too scared to have an opinion
Has Karl ever asked anyone to peel his banana?
Probably his mom.
We gotta get the guy checked out for Oedipus complex stat!
This banana has been blown completely out of proportion…
On a serious note though and at the risk of being one of the 'outraged', on the few occasions I watched the Today Show prior to his 'sacking', Karl was inappropriate and disgusting on numerous occasions. One time I watched where he blatantly belittled a colleague on air - from memory where he changed a teleprompter and she was clearly embarrassed by the stuff up. Not sure Karl is one for passing comment on stuff like this banana-gate incident…
Not wanting to mix my metaphors or anything, but this banana skin has become a real hot potato…
From the linked story:
"fingers on his right hand were heavily tapped up"
o_0
It looks like Nine went bananas without even checking the basic facts. What a "disgusting act".
Karl's conveniently forgetting that ball boys and girls are regularly presented with players' sweaty towels. I'd rather peel a banana.
BANANAGATE!
I wonder what the response would have been if the player in question was a female, a woman?
A black player, a black woman perhaps.
Not a word I guess.
A 9-News story, about a Channel 9 'celebrity' ranting, about something that was requested but didn't happen, in a tennis match that is broadcast on Channel 9.