You Can’t Ask That

Television ABC
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Series 7, Episode 4 - Models

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Wednesday 15 June 9.05pm

From the pitfalls of ‘pretty privilege,’ to teenage exploitation, unrealistic beauty standards, and mental health issues, eight models share the unvarnished truth about one of the most desired and least understood professions.

The award-winning, You Can’t Ask That is back for a seventh season with answers to all the questions you’d never ask a stranger.

From the very first question "Can you read this card?’ the eight MODELS in this episode realise
this isn’t going to be an easy red-carpet interview. Elaine Estreich (formerly known as Elaine George) the first Aboriginal model to grace the cover of Vogue bites back with a turn of phrase that instantly makes you love her “We’re not ditzy bitches, just because we’re good lookin.”

While Chloe Maxwell, who found fame in the untamed 90’s, said of her catwalk experiences “Champagne, that was a must at every fashion parade, I can’t remember ever doing one sober.”Elaine and Chloe are joined by Bridgette Malcolm, a Perth girl who conquered the modelling world, Sarah Stephens, who won the Girlfriend magazine model search when she was just 16, ex-male model Luke Wallace, plus size model Mahalia Handley, model/activist Khadija Gbla, and South Sudanese Australian model Malaan Ajang.

From the pitfalls of ‘pretty privilege,’ to teenage exploitation, unrealistic beauty standards, and mental health issues, the models on tonight’s program share the unvarnished truth about one of the most admired, desired and least understood professions in the world.

Production credit: You Can’t Ask That is an ABC Production. Series Director and Producer: Kirk Docker, Series Producer: Josh Schmidt, Executive Producer: Frances O’Riordan and Head of Entertainment: Nick Hayden.

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Last time Chloe Maxwell was on TV, she appeared alongside husband Mat Rogers as part of the latter’s profile on Australian Survivor: All Stars.

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Series 7, Episode 5 – Prescription Drug Dependency & Addiction

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Wednesday 22 June 9.05pm

‘Is your prescription pill addiction a dirty little secret?’ is one of the questions eight interviewees answer when they talk openly about addiction, doctor shopping, rehab and who is to blame for prescription drug dependency.

It is among Australia’s leading causes of death, and it is likely to come in a packet, handed to you over the counter by your local pharmacist or doctor. In 2020, prescription medication killed almost twice as many people in Australia as car accidents and more than heroin and methamphetamine combined.

In this episode we meet eight people, from a variety of backgrounds, with vastly different stories of how they became dependant and addicted to pharmaceutical drugs. For some, it was physical pain, for others emotional stability, and still more used them for mental health issues. Some of these stories began decades ago, when the understanding of the potential for dependency on these drugs was less evolved.

As the statistics continue to show, both public and medical professionals alike are still being caught unawares by the addiction potential of pharmaceutical drugs, in particular opioids and benzodiazepines.

This is not an anti-prescription drug episode. Everyday millions of Australians appropriately use prescription medication for the betterment of their lives. They do so with significant benefit. This show focuses on one aspect of prescription medication; cases where there has been the development of dependence. There is no shame in potentially becoming dependent on a medication, and there is help available. We hope the episode encourages you to, if necessary, discuss any concerns you have with their GP or preferred medical professional.

Production credit: You Can’t Ask That is an ABC Production. Series Director and Producer: Kirk Docker, Series Producer: Josh Schmidt, Executive Producer: Frances O’Riordan and Head of Entertainment: Nick Hayden.

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Series 7, Episode 6 – Porn Stars

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Wednesday 29 June 9.05pm

Game for anything, our Aussie Porn Stars answer some very eye-opening questions in this episode of You Can’t Ask That, as they take us on the journey of what it’s like to be involved in porn, and the ethics of the industry.

The porn industry is often assumed to be the final port of call in a desperate and destitute life. The place you end up when your acting career falls in a heap, you run afoul of addiction, or you’re just not quite right. The participants in tonight’s episode however don’t stack up to those stereotypes, they love what they do.

Nearly every viewer who watches this episode is alive because someone had sex, yet the subject remains surrounded by a veil of secrecy and even shame. At least in the public domain. Behind closed doors it’s a different story with Australians consuming among the most pornography anywhere in the world. According to leading adult website, Pornhub, where we ranked ninth in the world for visitors to the site in 2018, 80% percent of Australians viewed porn before they engaged in any other sexual experiences.

As much as Aussies love watching it and the actors love doing it, some researchers are concerned it normalises sexist attitudes. While others have said it creates unrealistic expectations around bodies and performance. In this episode, we explore some of these concerns with eight guests from the industry and try to answer the question why we have such a complicated and often contradictory relationship with porn. We also show how these confusing and often extreme attitudes are impacting the people behind the industry.

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Episode 7 – Juvenile Detention

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Wednesday 6 July 9.05pm

This episode looks at Juvenile Detention and questions how we deal with some of the most damaged kids in society. What happens when a child is told they are bad, and can there be rehabilitation in detention?

The Australian government has a dirty little secret that is making us one of the most shame-faced nations in the developed world: we lock children up.

Despite being urged by 31 countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2019 to raise the age of criminal responsibility from ten years old to 14-years-old - the age set by the UN - we refused. This means kids in this country can be incarcerated before they’re old enough to have a Facebook account.

In most Australian states, the government has banned former child inmates from talking publicly about their time behind bars if they haven’t sought permission from the courts. In this episode, we hear seven former inmates incarcerated for varying periods of time over the past 50 years. There are no blurred faces and no silhouettes.

The episode also questions how a country as lucky and abundant in resources as Australia treats its most damaged, vulnerable and underprivileged kids. We ask what happens when a child is never even given the chance to break the cycle of trauma, poverty and incarceration? When they are told they’re bad and locked up before being given a realistic chance to prove otherwise?

Are we giving kids any hope of rehabilitation? What could be done to reduce young people’s risk of offending or re-offending and what would that compassionate and pragmatic prison system look like?

Production credit: You Can’t Ask That is an ABC Production. Series Director and Producer: Kirk Docker, Series Producer: Josh Schmidt, Executive Producer: Frances O’Riordan and Head of Entertainment: Nick Hayden.

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Episode 8 – Dementia - Season Final

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Wednesday 13 July 9.05pm

This episode we meet people living with dementia and hear their all too common - though no less exceptional – stories. There will be laughs, there will be tears, there will also be mind- altering insights.

Death, taxes, and dementia. If you are a woman and you are Australian, the chances are you will experience all three. For women, dementia is the leading cause of death and comes in second for all Australians. Despite its prevalence, this often-debilitating neurodegenerative disease remains misunderstood and often gets missed altogether.

In this episode you will meet people living with dementia of all shapes, sizes - and ages. Their all too common - though no less exceptional - stories also take us through some complex philosophical terrain. Like what is the value of memories? And who should decide our right to die? There will be laughs, there will be tears, there will also be mind-altering insights.

Production credit: You Can’t Ask That is an ABC Production. Series Director: Kirk Docker, Series
Producer: Josh Schmidt, Executive Producer: Frances O’Riordan.

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ABC iview has every episode from every season except for season 7 episode 7

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Aussie porn star Angela White features in the June 29 episode. Angela previously appeared on Interview with Andrew Denton on Seven four years ago to discuss her career, and she will be on Abbie Chats (part of Pilot Showcase) on 10 Play next week.