BBC investigation of ex-TVNZ host Kamahl Santamaria publishes new harassment claims
Monday, 17 October 2022
A BBC investigation into former TVNZ presenter Kamahl Santamaria has published new allegations of sexual harrasment against him from during his previous employment at Al Jazeera.
One young producer, identified only as Tory, alleged Santamaria would message her on social media and “on more than one occasion I had to go to the bathroom to wipe Kamahl's saliva from my face”.
“A hand on the shoulder, a weird hug, and the worst: the kiss on the cheek,” she said.
The BBC report said Santamaria did not respond directly to their questions, instead pointing to the statement he put out on his website last week in which he apologised for his past behaviours.
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In that statement, he forecast more allegations were on the way.
“The allegations are broad and with no particulars – making it difficult for anyone to respond to – so I will be as interested as anyone to read the article when it is published,” he wrote.
“The fact however that it is ‘a story which includes several allegations’ against me makes me wonder if the alleged behaviour of other people at Al Jazeera will finally be attributed to named individuals, or if I will remain the apparent face and name behind every alleged wrongdoing that happened there.”
Santamaria quit TVNZ in May after just 32 days as a host on Breakfast, with the state-owned broadcaster describing the sudden exit as being down to a “family emergency”.
However, Stuff revealed Santamaria had quit after at least one woman in the TVNZ newsroom had complained about inappropriate behaviour.
The Sanatamaria scandal later saw TVNZ’s head of news and current affairs Paul Yurisich resign as well – after a review ordered by chief executive Simon Power found TVNZ’s hiring processes were lacking.
Yurisich hired Santamaria and had previously worked with him at Al Jazeera. Stuff understands concerns were raised with Yurisich over the process of the hiring.
A batch of other complaints about Santamaria then followed from former colleagues at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar.
As part of its investigation, the BBC sent Al Jazeera 22 allegations to respond to.
In response, the broadcaster said it “considers its staff across the world the backbone and foundation of the company - their safety and wellbeing are of utmost importance”.
The BBC heard from former employees who said they’d had a hard time raising problems with the Qatar-based newsroom.
One former freelancer, whose name was changed by the BBC to protect her identity, said she reported issues with Santamaria to a mid-level manager. In response, the manager is alleged to have said “Oh, he's not still doing that is he?”
She said she had a panic attack when the allegations about Santamaria became public.
“I had reported him six years ago, and nothing was done,” she said. “How many more people did he do this to since then?”
Tory, who said she wiped Santaria’s saliva from her face, said she discussed her experiences multiple times with people who also confirmed those conversations took place to the BBC.
“A professional man in a serious newsroom should not have to be told, more than once, not to message his colleague about how hot she looks or reference her 'tits' or invite her to cuddle even if he thinks they are 'friends’,” she said.
People told the BBC they thought Santamaria’s behaviour was brazen but that because he was a network star and they were new to the industry - and to the Middle East - they never reported it.
Another former colleague who was a junior producer at the time said Santamaria kissed her on the neck in front of others.
“I felt so embarrassed and mortified and really worried that people would think I was involved with him or trying to be - I was still making friends, didn't have anyone in management that I could've talked to about it,” she said.