Ben Roberts-Smith says he "didn't bloody murder anyone" in a long 2GB interview as he launches a clothing line
Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested in April and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder over alleged killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, which he denies, The Nightly and The New Daily reported. On Thursday 22 October 2GB began airing a roughly two-and-a-half-hour interview with Ben Fordham, with the full version posted to YouTube from 9am, Mediaweek reported. In extracts he said he had never committed a war crime and "I didn't bloody murder anyone", The New Daily reported. The Nightly reported that the interview covers his ten days in Silverwater prison and the allegation that he kicked an Afghan man, Ali Jan, off a cliff, which Justice Besanko found proven in the civil defamation case. The Nightly also reported the launch of a merchandise line named after his call sign, Epic One Two. The ABC reported his claim that the failed court case cost Kerry Stokes upwards of $30 million.
The criminal charges are separate from the civil defamation finding, which was decided on the balance of probabilities, and nothing said in a radio interview changes what a court will decide. Public statements by an accused person can matter at trial because they shape what potential jurors have already heard.
If you follow the case, treat the interview as one side's account: the charges are allegations until a court rules. If you are asked to serve on a jury in a related matter, you would be told to set aside what you have read or heard.
Supporters and some commentators quoted by Mediaweek call it a rare long-form interview in which he answers every allegation directly, and one media executive described it as the best long-form interview he has seen. Roberts-Smith says he is fighting to clear his name.
The Sydney Morning Herald's fact-check said many questions were put but court findings were not challenged in real time, and its column argued the blitz is designed for the future jury pool. Critics also point to the merchandise launch as commercialising a war crimes case.
Confirmed: he is charged, he denies it, and the interview and merchandise launch are real. Not confirmed: any of the contested events, which only a court can decide. Watch for the second day of the broadcast on Friday and for any court response about the publicity.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 19 · Morning · FRI., OCT. 23, 2026