Owen Bonnici Says Ricky Caruana Shouldn’t Be ‘Cancelled’ After Backlash Over Comments
Culture Minister Owen Bonnici has said that TV host Ricky Caruana should not be subjected to cancel culture, insisting that PBS should not pull his show despite backlash over his recent comments, which the Malta Women’s Lobby described as “medieval and blatantly misogynistic.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Bonnici was asked to respond to the lobby’s call for PBS to reconsider funding Caruana’s prime-time TV slot as reported by Times of Malta.
On 30th October, Caruana blasted feminists in a video on his Facebook page, suggesting, among others, that workplaces function better if gender-segregated and implying that women should stay at home to care for children.
The group said Caruana had “openly and unashamedly ridiculed women’s contributions to society, dismissed the achievements of feminist movements, promoted the segregation of men and women in the workplace, and trivialised reports of sexual harassment.”
“I am saying independently on whether I agree or not with what Ricky Caruana said, I don’t think he said something that warrants applying cancel culture to him,” Bonnici said. He added that he had watched the clip in question “with an open mind” and that whether he agreed with Caruana or not was “besides the point.”
While noting that there were some arguments he agreed with and others he didn’t, Bonnici distanced himself from the notion, that “a woman’s place is to care for children.” “However, the question is not about my personal opinion,” he said, “but whether someone in Caruana’s position should be allowed to make such comments while hosting a show on national television.”
“When someone shares their opinions on a controversial subject such as this and makes these sorts of arguments, whether you agree with them or not, it doesn’t mean he should have his show removed from the national broadcaster,” Bonnici continued.
Caruana’s new programme, RICKY Debates, airs on Fridays after the 8pm news on TVM, one of the network’s most sought-after slots for producers and advertisers.
In its statement, the Malta Women’s Lobby said women “should not have to finance their own demeaning treatment through public funds,” urging PBS to urgently review how such editorial decisions are made.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality also expressed “serious concern” over Caruana’s social media comments, calling them “unacceptable” for someone in a public and influential role.
The commission called on authorities to ensure that individuals in public positions uphold standards of correctness and refrain from causing social harm.
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