The pressure became too much
Weißmann speaks out: “This must never become public”
Former ORF Director General Roland Weißmann (58) speaks to the “Krone” about mistakes and the pressure from the controversial foundation board members, which ultimately became too much. Conny Bischofberger makes remarks that reveal a lot. Weißmann discusses compromising photos and the fear of even stepping outside. Read the full story on Krone+.
The last few weeks have been “the most difficult six weeks” of his life, says Weißmann, reflecting on the moments when the scandal unfolded. “I was sitting in a restaurant having dinner when the two heads of the foundation board called me. My food got stuck in my throat.”
The case involves possible sexual harassment of a former employee—who is now also suing, as reported by krone.at. Weißmann is also said to have admitted to having a relationship with the alleged victim. “Is that true?” asks “Krone” interviewer Conny Bischofberger. “Yes, that’s correct,” says the media executive, continuing...
“It was all consensual”
“I have confirmed that there was a private relationship over a longer period of time, beginning in 2019. As is well known, I wasn’t even ORF Director General at that time. However, I have rejected this woman’s allegations from the very beginning, because it was all consensual and mutual. I also consider myself 100 percent exonerated by the ORF’s compliance investigation—‘no sexual harassment.’” There are “no compromising photos that I regret,” Weißmann notes.
“We don’t care at all whether it’s true or not”
Nevertheless, the leadership of the ORF Foundation Board had built up “massive time pressure.” They repeatedly said: “We don’t care at all whether it’s true or not. This must never become public. That’s why you have to resign.” They called a resignation “non-negotiable,” says the former Deputy Finance Director and Managing Director of the online portal orf.at. “I gave in to this pressure, but by no means voluntarily.”
I’m concerned about my reputation. How do I live with this nightmare? Today I’m doing okay again. But in the last few weeks, I’ve been through hell.
Roland Weißmann zur „Krone“
Bild: Imre Antal
The interview with Conny Bischofberger takes place in the presence of Weißmann’s lawyer, Oliver Scherbaum. He notes that today, “the mere accusation of ‘MeToo’ is enough to ‘socially destroy’ someone. That was a prime example of that.”
“Then you can ask me again”
Find out in the in-depth Krone+ interview whether Weißmann can imagine running for the ORF directorship again and how he, as an amateur boxer, is coping with this situation.
Just one apology
By the way: Weißmann doesn’t want to apologize for anything—except to friends whom he neglected during his 31 years at ORF and who are now there for him. “You won’t see me knocked out in the end,” he says, close to tears.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.