ABC Head of Arts and Entertainment Amanda Duthie told TV Tonight that the show needed a breath of fresh air.
"After three years, we felt Good Game needed a refresh to take the program into 2010 and beyond, and the decision was made to change the hosting team," she said.
With mounting viewer anger and a rapidly growing Facebook group calling for Junglist’s return, the Good Game team posted a response on the official program ABC message board:
"For all sorts of reasons we are unable to tell you things that have happened over many months inside Team Good Game which have impacted on the production. That's just real life folks. We know it leaves many questions unanswered but we have reached that point where we really can’t say any more than that."
Nonetheless, the production team said that "The decision to take Junglist off air was not forced upon us by ABC Management and it's one that is fully supported by all the GG team. We are gutted that it has come to this but in our opinion it absolutely had to happen."
Junglist quickly responded, calling the ABC’s previous statement into question:
"I can tell you that this is a lie. There was no vote taken, no consensus reached. In fact, the GG team was completely unaware of the change until the same day I found out. The same confidentiality clause that prevented me from saying anything publicly, prevented management from telling them anything.
"I have spoken to members of the GG team who clearly DON'T support this, but can't say anything publicly. Of course they'll tow the party line. They have to.
"Up until now the situation has just been poorly handled. But to now LIE to your own audience, in an effort to save face for replacing an experienced reviewer/presenter with an inexperienced one, is quite simply the lowest thing I've ever seen ABC management do."
"I feel now as if I'm being professionally attacked, so here's a truth bomb. In the meeting where I was told I would be replaced, the reason given was they wanted a girl on the show. "Mass appeal" was a direct quote from that meeting. After a half-hour of explaining how they'll lose their hardcore following, they responded that yes, they knew this, but expected to make up the numbers with a new following. 'A show can grow beyond its hardcore base', is another direct quote."
Remaining on-air presenter Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell and Good Game Series Producer Syd stand by the ABC’s original statement.
"Jung mate, I'm sorry to say it but you are wrong… no one on the team feels we have to tow the party line here - no one has been coerced into doing or saying anything they don't want to… That's the truth we need to swallow here… as bitter a taste as it might leave in our mouths," said Syd.
Syd also addressed the gender issue. "Regardless of what Jung might say GG will NOT be dumbed down and I state again, the decision was nothing to do with bringing in a girl… I'm a girl and I started this show - I don’t care about the gender of the presenters - I just care about having the best people working on it," she added.
Bajo also chimed in.
"We have felt professionally attacked by some of the posts by Jung, with the inability to reply due to confidentiality. So we cannot drop our own 'truth bomb'. While Junglist may have his own version of events, so do we…"
Stay tuned to PALGN for more on the issue as it unfolds.
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