Last night he told Tracy Grimshaw in an agonising 22-minute interview on A Current Affair that he had been waiting seven years for that call - and when it came it was kind of a relief. Johns sat beside his wife Trish in the studio. Her eyes were full of hurt and tears but she said she fully supported him and he had confessed his sins seven years ago.
But Johns didn't give much away, focusing instead on the hurt his exploits had caused his wife and young family rather than the hurt he had caused the then 19-year-old woman he and his mates had sex with.
"I would say that on the night when she came back to the room, she was a willing participant in what occurred," Johns said. Grimshaw disagrees. She had said so on the program the night before when she invited Johns on. She said the incident "redefined the notion of consent". If the interview was a contest between Grimshaw and Johns, Grimshaw won.
Nine took Johns off air indefinitely yesterday but not before the story led the 6pm news bulletin and dominated the 6.30pm current affairs slot. Expect a lengthier version on The Footy Show tonight. Ratings have to be gathered at every opportunity, even if it is from the network's misfortune. Your career is all but over, Grimshaw told Johns, in an interview that will certainly boost hers.
Before recording the interview yesterday, Johns sat down at Nine's studios and watched the Four Corners report for the first time. Early last week he had warned Gyngell the ABC was going to bring up an incident in which he was involved years ago. But Johns didn't go into much detail and Gyngell was unaware of how sordid the incident was.
By Thursday, Nine News sports reporter Danny Weidler had independently obtained the Johns story and got a brief statement from Johns for the 6pm news. Weidler has admitted he has known about the story for years but didn't consider reporting it.
But Weidler didn't have an exclusive. Seven News had the story for its 6pm bulletin too. Someone interviewed by the ABC must have been talking.
As the story was breaking in the wider media, The Footy Show decided to air its own segment on the scandal that night. Co-host Paul "Fatty" Vautin recorded a taped piece with Johns in which he said the incident happened seven years ago when he was still playing football. "It was an incident that was investigated by police - it caused all parties enormous pain and embarrassment," Johns said.
"It's put my family through enormous anguish and embarrassment, and has once again. And for that I'm just ... well, you can't say sorry enough."
Vautin reached over and patted him on the back, which some read as akin to giving him a high-five.
The apology was to be regarded by Gyngell, and everyone else, as manifestly inadequate. It failed to mention the woman's suffering or acknowledge any wrongdoing. Johns continued this line last night, admitting she was hurt but not that he abused her in any way. He didn't acknowledge the power imbalance in the room that night, despite Grimshaw's prompting.
Last Thursday Gyngell's official response was that he was aware of the allegations and was "monitoring" the situation. He, and everyone else at Nine, didn't know what was in the Ferguson story and wanted to wait and see.
What everyone underestimated was the power of the young woman's testimony on Four Corners. Her face and voice disguised, she still conveyed the agony she was feeling. Until she spoke - within the context of the NRL's sorry culture of disrespecting women - Nine didn't realise how bad Johns had made them look.
Johns is the funny guy, the clown, of the NRL Sydney-based Footy Show and is highly regarded at Nine. His alter ego Reg Reagan is a popular personality that has spawned books, recordings and an even an **** nomination. He had a lucrative career on the corporate speaking circuit. But Johns is nothing like his Melbourne counterpart Sam Newman, who has always courted controversy. As one producer said yesterday "Matty is the last person I would expect to be caught up in this". They are both big stars, but while Newman's contract is worth about $750,000; Johns is on only half that.
Everything changed for Matthew Johns and Nine on Monday night. Although Johns was not charged, the group sex incident was presented on the ABC within a context of footballers who degrade women. It was totally unacceptable to the general public, and women in particular.
The Australian understands Gyngell believed he had to take action, but the details had yet to be worked out. If left alone on the grounds Johns had not done anything illegal, sponsors and viewers may have started to turn off. Johns meanwhile had been sent to Broome for a break with his wife and children, by his powerful celebrity manager John Fordham. He did not watch Four Corners on Monday night because he was with his family. He told Grimshaw he was fresh from watching it and still affected by the woman's words.
On Tuesday Grimshaw became agitated when she got wind of plans by The Footy Show to record a long interview with Johns on his return from Broome. (They had done a similar thing when his brother Andrew Johns admitted he had a drug problem.) Grimshaw went to air with an appeal to Johns to come on and let her ask the tough questions instead. ACA sources insist Gyngell was not asked for his approval.
Grimshaw: "Even though no charges were ever laid, (the woman's) experience should rightly redefine the notion of consent and whether a star-struck 19-year-old could even be deemed capable of consenting to the scenario she ultimately endured," she said.
"Unfortunately a man we all know, and I personally like, Matthew Johns, has been heavily implicated in this event, and I believe he needs to step up, face some hard questions and talk properly about it, rather than just a few uncomfortable lines delivered on The Footy Show."
Gyngell told colleagues on Tuesday he agreed wholeheartedly with NRL boss David Gallop's strong words about the issues the Four Corners report raised and Johns was asked to come into Nine, with Fordham, for a meeting abut his future.
Nine wanted him to apologise to the woman personally, and make a public, specific apology as well. It was agreed he would appear on A Current Affair.
When sponsors began to pull out of The Footy Show in Melbourne last year after Sam Newman offensively manhandled a mannequin, Newman was also suspended. But he was back within three weeks.
But sources say Johns will not be back on air this year, and indeed he will never be back on The Footy Show.
His humour is absolutely incongruous with the revelations in the Four Corners report. At best he may be acceptable as a rugby league commentator - but even that depends on his being rehabilitated in the audience's eyes. His contract is up in October. Matty Johns has been the biggest drawcard of The Footy Show, and insiders agree the future of the show is now under review
