The Cyprus Media Ethics Committee has strongly criticised television presenter Christiana Aristotelous over a controversial interview broadcast on Alpha Cyprus’s “Sunday Night” programme.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the committee unanimously ruled that both the December 8 interview with former footballer Costas Malekkos and its promotional trailer violated the Code of Journalistic Ethics, particularly Article 13 regarding gender discrimination.
The committee found that Aristotelous not only failed to challenge Malekkos’s sexist remarks but appeared to encourage them for ratings, despite being aware of his history of making controversial statements.
During the broadcast, Malekkos had told Aristotelous: “If you decide to get married, you must accept each other’s mistakes and stay with your children. If you divorce Efrem in ten years, I will find you and kill you. I don’t understand, has it become fashionable?”.
He had further stated: “Women have taken the wrong path. Men are men. Full stop. When your man at home isn’t a man, you will divorce him”.
Malekkos had also said: “A man has the right, because he is a man… You women must accept that the man is the leader”.
The host had admitted to editing out similar content from a previous interview with Malekkos.
“The deliberate violation of ethics for the sake of viewership, provoking laughter, irritation, anger and public discussion to draw attention to the programme, must be strongly condemned”, the committee stated.
The body also rejected Aristotelous’s subsequent explanation that Malekkos’s comments were “misinterpreted”, noting her response showed a lack of understanding about the seriousness of sexist discourse and gender discrimination.
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