The writer Rebecca Huntley has accused Mark Latham of calling her a “deranged slut” during an angry tirade at the Melbourne writers’ festival where they were both speakers.



Huntley, who is a social researcher and writer for Mia Freedman’s Mamamia Women’s Network, says she spotted Latham at the coffee shop of the hotel where they were both staying and tried to avoid him.

But the former Labor leader, fresh from his bizarre performance on Saturday, confronted her about calling him a “stay-at-home psycho” in a column she wrote eight years ago.

“He stood very close to me and said, ‘How would you like it if I called you a deranged slut?’

“I told him I wouldn’t but that I didn’t think ‘slut’ and ‘psycho’ were interchangeable,” Huntley wrote for mamamia.com.au.

“The conversation didn’t get better. He was aggressive, I was annoyed and taken aback.

“Mark is a big guy. He was standing close, and while I didn’t feel like he would put his hands on me, I did feel intimidated. He jumped from topic to topic, the conversation was unpredictable and that was highly disconcerting.”

At his festival session the day before Latham had refused to conduct a civil conversation with interviewer Jonathan Green, choosing instead to rant about “left-feminists” and “rich girls”.

Latham said a concerted campaign by feminists, including Huntley’s boss Freedman, had led to his departure from the Australian Financial Review where he wrote a column for eight years.

Huntley says she apologised for the “stay-at-home psycho” remark but Latham made further personal remarks and called her a “disgrace” as she walked away.

Her report came hours after the Australian published a story saying Latham had “launched a vicious verbal attack” on an unnamed mother.

“The assault upset the mother, who was in Melbourne with her young child and goddaughter,” the Australian’s media editor, Sharri Markson, reported.

“When the Australian asked Latham a series of questions about the alleged incident, he replied: ‘You are an imbecile.’ ”

On Saturday Huntley gave the John Button oration on the topic of inequality in Australia.

Latham was also interviewed by Miranda Devine on her Sunday evening 2GB program but was relatively calm and measured. He repeated his claims that he has had offers for further appearances in commercial media.