An Australian news channel is under fire after footage of a group of “sexy Santas” dancing during a typical staff meeting went viral. Seven West Media, the parent company of Seven Network, reportedly held the controversial meeting in Perth on Friday. The meeting was set to announce Chris Dore as editor-in-chief of The West Australian, Sarah-Jane Tasker as the first female editor and Adrian Lowe of weekend newspaper The Sunday Times as the first LGBT employee. But this standard meeting seemed to veer into unlikely territory when a gaggle of scantily clad dancers wearing Santa hats and short red dresses took to the stage.

The news was first reported by the Australian Financial Review (AFR). According to the publication, the clip shows the four women standing in front of Deputy Director of News Ray Kuka, who is drumming on his desk before breaking into a cancan to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas.

After the event, a picture of the scene was posted online and drew heavy criticism, with some claiming it looked like something out of the 1980s. Some of the female staff reportedly left the venue in protest after expressing their dismay.

“This does not belong in any workplace. I would cringe if this happened in my workplace. It is demeaning to EVERYONE,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter).

A Seven West Media spokesperson defended the dancers, saying they were part of the Christmas Pageant’s “Perth institution,” news.com.au reports.

Tasker told Guardian Australia that the media reaction was “completely over the top” because the event was not a typical staff meeting but an “upfront-style presentation”, complete with pyrotechnics and sizzle reels.

The Christmas-themed exotic dance comes to light just weeks after ABC’s Four Corners aired an episode alleging a culture of sexual harassment was widespread at Seven.

According to Sky News, many scenes were changed before broadcast due to legal difficulties surrounding the episode.

The upcoming edition was edited to remove an interview with Amber Harrison, the former lover of former Seven CEO Tim Worner, even though Harrison appears in commercials for the show, the report added.

In June, Seven fired veteran journalist Robert Ovadia after investigating allegations that he had behaved inappropriately toward another colleague.

The most senior investigative journalist and stand-in presenter of the network’s flagship program Seven News was also sacked. However, Ovadia reportedly denies the allegations and is taking legal action against Seven for unfair dismissal.

News.co.au reports that shares in parent companies Seven Holdings Group and Seven West Media fell following the ABC investigation, but both stocks initially posted gains following the release of financial results on Wednesday.