Daryl Somers hits back his ex-manager’s allegations of ‘appalling’ treatment

Daryl Somers has labelled his former business manager’s recent allegations of ‘appalling’ treatment as ‘utterly false’ and ‘without foundation’.

On Wednesday, Alex Mathey revealed he planned to take action against the Hey Hey It’s Saturday host, 68, and his wife, Julie, after their professional relationship soured beyond ‘norms of acceptable conduct’.

In response, Daryl and Julie have said they are ‘obtaining legal advice’ to deal with matters surrounding Mathey’s explosive claims.

In a statement released to the Herald Sun on Thursday morning, the couple stated: ‘We are aware of allegations recently reported online and in the media regarding a former employee of Somers Group Australia.

‘The allegations which have been reported are utterly false and without foundation. We are obtaining legal advice and will not be making further comment.’ 

Mathey served as the chief executive and group legal counsel for the pair and their production company until recently.

His statement on Wednesday read: ‘Regrettably, my relationship with the Somers has devolved into a protracted and rather nasty dispute. 

‘I consider that the Somers have treated me appallingly as well as in violation of generally accepted standards and norms of acceptable and appropriate behaviour and conduct.’

‘It is unfortunate that all the various issues are likely to be ventilated, argued and fought out in the public domain because all along it has been entirely avoidable and, I think, are likely to cause significant distress and embarrassment and lasting collateral damage to all concerned,’ he concluded. 

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford said of the situation earlier this week: ‘It’s going to be embarrassing for everybody if all these murky details end up being played out publicly.’

This is just the latest controversy for TV veteran Daryl, who has been called out for performing Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World in blackface back in the ’80s. 

After footage of the offensive act resurfaced online recently, Indigenous journalist and Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs said that blackface ‘facilitates a negative stereotype of black people’. 

Narelda, 44, also referred to another incident in 2009 in which a comedy troupe dressed up as the Jackson Five in blackface for a Red Faces segment.

American singer Harry Connick Jr. was a guest judge on the episode and gave the performance a score of zero, saying that he never would’ve appeared on the show if he had known that it would involve blackface.

Host Daryl apologised to Harry at the end of the live segment at the time, saying: ‘I think we may have offended you with that act and I deeply apologise on behalf of all of us.

‘Because I know that to your countrymen, that’s an insult to have a blackface routine like that on the show, so I do apologise to you.’

Harry responded: ‘I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.

‘I feel like I am at home here and if I knew that was going to be part of the show, I probably, I definitely, wouldn’t have done it.’