Jay-Jay Feeney has responded to nasty comments a group of men made about her after the remarks were relayed to her in a post shared by a female inclusion expert on Linkedin.
Kristy Christensen penned a lengthy note describing how the More FM radio host was dubbed a "fat d**e" and accused of "bringing home a toy boy from South America" during a conversation Christensen was having with five men and four women.
Christensen said she was "stunned" by the comments, pointing out that Feneey was not a lesbian. After the conversation turned to critiquing the broadcaster's on-again-off-again long-distance relationship with Minou, who is 18 years her junior, Christensen questioned the men's motivation.
"So in a pause I stated 'Did you consider that if JJ was a man this probably wouldn't have made the news, you would not have picked on her weight, her sexuality or where she picked up her boyfriend?'" Christensen wrote.
Feeney responded to the post on-air on More FM, as well as writing a comment on Linkedin thanking Christensen for sticking up for her.
"I get it, I'm in the public eye, so I'm fair game," Feeney said during the More FM afternoon show on Monday.
"We can all talk about people in the news and celebrities, it doesn't worry me. But I was just concerned that this kind of talk still goes on about people."
"It does amuse me," Feeney continued. "Because what if I was a lesbian? Is that a problem?"
In her LinkedIn reply, Feeney called the people Christensen heard talking "homophobic".
"And I get that I'm slightly overweight but does that make me unworthy of having my own experiences and opinions?"
Feeney also defended her relationship, telling listeners: "My boyfriend is from North Africa, Algeria, and if anyone has a problem with the age gap, they're also ageist. Obviously the people at that table don't understand it's about a connection rather than age."
"I'm concerned that this kind of judgemental talk goes on these days, but I don't worry what people have to say about me, because I don't care. I don't need everyone to like me. There are people that I don't like either," she added.
"But it's great to call out people for putting people down for what's on the outside. However, the way things are going, I doubt much will change unfortunately."
Feeney said she signed off her message from "Jay-Jay Feeney - the fat, lesbian, cougar."
