TV host Eddie McGuire in trouble over violent joke

  • 20/06/2016
Collingwood AFL club president Eddie McGuire taking part in the Big Freeze Ice Slide challenge (AAP)
Collingwood AFL club president Eddie McGuire taking part in the Big Freeze Ice Slide challenge (AAP)

Former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Eddie McGuire is being criticised for making a joke about drowning a female sports journalist.

A spokesperson for the AFL says McGuire, president of the Collingwood club, made "clearly inappropriate" comments that "could be seen as supporting violent attitudes to women".

McGuire's controversial remarks were made on radio station Triple M nearly a week ago, but were brought to a wider audience over the weekend when the recording caused outrage on social media.

Talking about an event where celebrities are plunged into ice, McGuire offered to pay $50,000 if Australian journalist Caroline Wilson "stayed under".

Former AFL player turned pundit Danny Frawley chimed in with "I'll hold her under, Ed."

McGuire then suggested people could be charged to "stand around and bomb her".

Frawley, appearing on TV show Bounce on Sunday evening, issued a brief apology.

"I made a couple of insensitive, inappropriate remarks about Caroline Wilson. Clearly it was a poor attempt at humour [for] which I sincerely apologise," Frawley said.

"Let's leave it at that. Unfortunately, as I said, it was a poor attempt at humour and it didn't go down that way."

The jokes about violence against women caused particular outrage due to their timing -- the same week the AFL launched its involvement in White Ribbon Week, Australia's campaign to prevent violence against women.

Newshub.