Q+A host Stan Grant has apologised during an emotional final appearance before stepping away from the programme to help mend his mental health.
In the final minutes of the show he addressed the audience about why he was stepping away.
Grant said the hateful messages had taken a toll on him and his family.
“To those who have abused me and my family, I would just say — if your aim was to hurt me, well, you’ve succeeded,” he said.
Grant also apologised to the people who had sent him hate.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I must have given you so much cause to hate me,” he said.
Grant said although he is down right now, he is only stepping away, and not stepping down.
“I will get back up. And you can come at me again, and I will meet you with the love of my people. My people can teach the world to love.”
Last week Grant announced he was stepping away from hosting Q+A and accused the ABC of “institutional failure”, saying the organisation did not publicly defend him amid a storm of racist abuse.
He said in his weekly column that since appearing as a guest as part of the ABC’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles he had been subjected to intense abuse inspired by distorted media coverage and had “had enough”.
On Monday’s episode of Q+A, Grant said he is not stepping away from the show because of racism or social media, he is stepping away because he thinks the media is the problem.
“I need a break from the media. I feel like I’m part of the problem and I need to ask myself how, or if, we can do it better.”
Grant added: “too often we are the poison in the bloodstream of our society.”
He said he feared the media did not have the love or the language, “to speak to the gentle spirits of our land”.
Grant also thanked those who sent him messages of support and said he will be OK.
“Please send that support and care to those of my people, and all people, who feel abandoned and alone,” he said.
“[To those] who are wondering whether they have a place in this country and who don’t have my privileges.”
Grant also confirmed that RN host Patricia Karvelas will take the helm of Q+A from next week.
When the panel was asked earlier in the programme what is needed to stop hate speech and hate acceptance from continuing in Australia, the panellists had a lot to say.
“We’ve got a long way to go and it’s going to take leadership, mature debate, but — look around. We can be better. We have to believe that we can be,” ACT’s independent Senator David Pocock said.
Labor Member for Higgins Michelle Ananda-Rajah said the hatred people received was not warranted anywhere.
“There’s no place in our community for vilification based on any attribute, whether it be the colour of your skin, your sexuality, your gender — whatever,” Dr Ananda-Rajah said.
She said connecting with people from all different backgrounds helps break down barriers.
“The most powerful de-biasing is contact,” she said.
Tasmanian Senator Tammy Tyrrell said people need to stick up for each other and call each other out, if someone is being discriminated against.
“If we are not brave enough to stick up for each other, what the hell are we doing here?”
ABC hopes Grant will return to Q+A
Earlier on Monday, ABC News director Justin Stevens said the door would be open for Grant to return to Q+A.
“Q+A is due, I think it has a few more episodes after this week, and then it’s got a mid-season break, and then it will return,” he told ABC radio.
“We just want to give him space and time to try and have a breather from this.
“Hopefully he’ll return after the mid-season break, but we just don’t want to put him under any extra pressure at the moment.”
It followed hundreds of ABC staff around the country walking out of office in support of Grant.
On Sunday afternoon, ABC managing director David Anderson said the organisation would review its response to racism affecting staff, and offered an apology to Grant.
“Stan Grant has stated that he has not felt publicly supported. For this, I apologise to Stan,” Mr Anderson said.
“Stan has our full support. And he has always had our full support. Stan makes an enormous contribution to conversations of national importance.”
Stevens issued a statement on Friday, calling the abuse towards Grant “abhorrent and unacceptable”.
“The ABC stands by him and condemns the attacks directed towards him. The ABC has and will continue to refer any threats to police.”