Pat Sharp says he is ‘truly sorry’ for ‘humiliating’ woman with vulgar remark at awards show
Pat Sharp has said he is “truly sorry” for a vulgar remark he made to a woman while hosting an awards show.
The Fun House presenter, 61, was presenting the Conference News Agency Awards on Friday (3 March), when a comment he made, designed to be a joke, fell flat in the room of approximately 400 people.
Sources in attendance at the ceremony claimed that Sharp handed a woman a T-shirt that had a picture of his face and mulleted hair, from the 1980s, alongside the phrase: “Looking Sharp since 1982.”
When the woman joined Sharp onstage, these sources told Deadline that he made an inappropriate comment about his image being on her chest.
According to Sharp’s rep, he told her: “That’s the only way I’m going to get on your t***.” The rep added that the joke was meant as a double entendre for the phrase “get on your nerves”.
Sources said the woman left the room in tears, and Sharp was admonished by another woman in the audience.
In a statement, Sharp said: “Last Friday, I made a joke on stage, which was not well received. I upset one individual in particular and for that I am truly sorry.
“I apologised at the event to anyone who was offended and I have apologised to the individual personally too.”
The “humiliated” woman who the comment was aimed at has seemingly addressed the matter on her LinkedIn page, stating, without naming Sharp: “I was belittled, sexualised and objectified in front of hundreds of people I respect.”
MashMedia, who organised the event, said in a statement: “Conference News disavows the statement made by Pat Sharp. It was unscripted and does not represent the ideals that we want to promote as a business. We’re doing our part to support the affected delegate in the aftermath and have requested both a public and private apology from Sharp.”
Almost a week later, the Bauer Media Group radio station he was employed by, Greatest Hits, said that Sharp would be leaving to “explore other opportunities”.
Deadline reports that Bauer parted ways with Sharp a while back, but after the incident brought his departure forward “with immediate effect”.
Sharp, who has been on the station since 2019, will be replaced by Mark Goodier. Greatest Hits Radio said they ”wish him well”.
The Independent has contacted Sharp, MashMedia and Bauer Media Group for additional comment.
