Build a Bridge: Logie Tweet-gate

The Logies on Sunday was the usual mess of bad jokes, pretty frocks, undeserving awards and golden moments (thank you Shaun Micallef). I never expect much from the event - if I don't fall asleep it's been a good show and if I'm not hiding behind the couch cringing at the overly-scripted "casual chatter" between presenters, even better.

But seemingly there are people out there that take the whole thing a little too seriously - besides the cast of Home & Away, who's only chance to prove to their parents that they indeed have 'made it' is to take home a "most popular male/female talent" award. There are viewers that are obviously a little too sensitive about their favourite soap/reality stars.

The Herald Sun today has shamed Melbourne comedian Catherine Deveny, calling her Logie tweets acid-tongued and offensive. Really? I thought they were hilarious. In fact, thanks to Deveny, Wil Anderson (who also got a spray from news ltd.) and a few others, the Logie broadcast was made almost bearable. 

What better topic for Australian comedians than our laughable rabble of 'celebrities' on their night of nights? John Mayer spends half his life saying stupid shit - we can't be shocked when he gets bagged for it. And seriously, Bindi Irwin? She's not so much a child as a social construction - there's nothing child-like about her, but for her appearance. In any case, comedy's hit and miss, what I find funny, others might not - but let me have my fun please - and I'll let you keep watching Hey Hey it's Saturday.

Meanwhile, the idiotic tweets of people wondering who KD Lang was and making snide remarks about the fact that she performed barefoot were far more offensive - here's the trick kids, when you actually have talent you don't need the pomp and circumstance of the Gabriela Cilmi number - you can just sing.

"Entertainment Reporter" Pete Timbs on The Circle this morning had a go at both Wil Anderson and Catherine Deveny. He said Wil was a "so-called" comedian (among other things) and was so disgusted by Deveny that he couldn't even talk about her tweets - though he did put a lovely picture of her on screen - nice one Dev. Besides the fact that Pete Timbs was once on a reality tv show generally populated by bogans and boof-heads, what exactly are his credentials to comment on media and/or celebrities? Ohhh, he works for TV Week you say? Well, that clears it up then.

Besides the Twitter storm-in-a-teacup the program wasn't all bad. Bert did a safe performance, KD Lang was amazing, Shaun Micallef shone every time he stepped on stage and tributes to Don Lane and Brian Naylor were respectful (though I'm not sure of Lane Jr. singing at every Australian media event ... we can stop that now, yes?)

Claudia Karvan looked stunning in classic lines - the diamond bracelet, the black gloves, the oh so revealing neckline, the wave in her hair. Perfection. Again, I'm not sure why the top story on news.com.au yesterday was that her nipple was slightly exposed when she leaned forward on the red carpet - it was the least of the 'reveal' issues of the night - I'm pretty sure you could see what Brynne Gordon ate for breakfast whether she was leaning forward or not.

Jessica Marais was gorgeous as usual, as was Margot Robbie. Ruby Rose looked like a contestant on Bret Michael's Rock of Love (and I don't mean that in a good way), though I loved her silver hair.

Overall it would have been a very dull night without Twitter - so I salute Wil, Catherine and the like and look forward to the next otherwise snore-fest event being made bearable by the T-wit-ter pros.

EDIT: Catherine Deveny's been fired from The Age ... what a load of crap. So utterly disappointing. 

 

Bindi and the Bottle

Comedian Fiona O'Loughlin is in the small paper today after a throwaway comment on Wednesday night's Spicks & Specks (8:30pm ABC1). 

Page 7 of the Herald Sun ran a banner "Fellow stars, viewers slam boozy comedian for 'slap' remark". The article even had a breakout box with a blow-by-blow account of the events on screen - excessive? Yes.

The first line of the article read;

Alcoholic comedian Fiona O'Loughlin has sunk to a new low, calling Bindi Irwin a creep who needs a slap in the face.

But by midday the online article had removed the terms "boozy" and "alcoholic" with the only reference to O'Loughlin's former alcohol dependency in italics at the end;

O'Loughlin discusses her battle with the booze in an interview to be published in Saturday's Herald Sun.

Well, well, well. How convenient for the Herald Sun that they should stumble across this "public outcry" just days before their very own feature on O'Loughlin.

The article claims that the ABC's online message board was "awash" with criticism. Really? At midday there were just 22 comments on the thread regarding Wednesday's episode of S&S - hardly a public outcry.

Mind you, there are over 400 comments on the HS website in response to the article. Many of them are along the lines of "how is this news?" and many more along the lines of "it's called comedy, get over it". Sure there are the "who will think of the CHILDREN" lot but I'm pretty sure they all come from the same church-group and flood the comments section en masse whenever the 'moral panic' bells ring out and they are called to action.

Cheap self-promotion from the Herald Sun - not entirely shocking.

Perhaps O'Loughlin can sue for defamation seeing as she is not, in fact, a boozy alcoholic at this time. Whereas Bindi Irwin is, in fact, slightly creepy.