War of words: ABC and News Corp journalists condemn Friendlyjordies? verbal attack on Nicolle Flint | The Weekly Beast

Annabel Crabb stuck her head above the parapet to defend Liberal MP Nicolle Flint this week, a particularly noble act when you consider the member for Boothby in South Australia criticised Crabb's ABC program Ms Represented as unfair to conservative women.

"There are very few reasons left to watch the ABC," Flint wrote in the Australian newspaper in July. "However, Annabel Crabb's new ABC TV program, Ms Represented, provides an excellent excuse to turn on the television, then turn it off again, and formally complain." Harsh.

But Crabb was acting on the principle not the personality when she responded to an article in the Australian by David Penberthy about a Friendlyjordies video, Enemy to Women? Curiously, the South Australian correspondent for the Oz referred to the video variously as an "abusive episode of his podcast" and a "profanity-laden post".

Penberthy reported that Friendlyjordies, whose real name is Jordan Shanks, "repeatedly tells Ms Flint to ‘f..k off' from politics and also refers to her as ‘Dick-hole Flint'" and a "whiny little bitch".

The report prompted both Crabb and the Labor MP Tanya Plibersek - who is one of the ALP figures to have been in interviewed by the YouTube star - to condemn Shanks.

Weekly Beast listened closely to the video and couldn't hear the words "Dick-Hole Flint" but we are happy to be corrected. On Friday, Penberthy reported in a follow-up article that Shanks denied saying the phrase, after the comedian sent him a statement about the "multiple falsehoods" in the article.

We've asked Penberthy to clarify whether he still believes the phrase is in the 15-minute video.