Ray Hadley, the veteran Sydney radio host, has admitted in court to calling his former rival Alan Jones a homophobic slur in a text message to a former staffer who later accused Jones of indecent assault. The admission came during Jones's Sydney trial, where the 85-year-old broadcaster denies 22 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent against six men between 2003 and 2020, with Jones's defence arguing that professional rivalry, rather than genuine complaint, motivated the allegations against him.

Under cross-examination by Jones's barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC, Hadley conceded he had written "Jones outed as a f****t" to the complainant and acknowledged he probably harboured animosity towards Jones at the time. He also described an earlier confrontation in which he called Jones a "dog and a c***", and revealed he had signed a secret $4million contract to replace Jones as breakfast host before it was torn up when Nine's chairman reinstated Jones. The complainant, a former radio staffer, denied fabricating claims to benefit Hadley or viewing the two hosts as rivals, while Jones maintains his innocence on all charges.