In case you missed it, Magda Szubanski stars in the Victorian government’s latest lockdown ad campaign, which is the second time we’ve see Sharon Strzelecki in TV commercials this year. It’s pretty fun and the message is important, but for some reason, a handful of people are stirring shit.
Take Victorian State MP James Newbury. He’s the member for Brighton (in other words, Karen‘s representative) and had a couple of ill-informed takes to share about the new commercial online.
“DAN, NOT MAGDA,” he wrote in all-caps.
“How angry are Victorians? They have turned on much-loved ‘Sharon Strzelecki’. Magda read a script – with good intentions.
“Dan Andrews wrote the condescending script telling us we aren’t ‘obeying the rules’. I’m angry. Angry at Dan.”
Luckily Szubanski – or Strzelecki, depending on how embedded in the Kath & Kim universe you are – hit back on Twitter.
“Appreciate the gesture but actually I WROTE the script,” Szubanski tweeted.
“And I stand by every word of it. And if your side was in government and you asked me to do a science-based public health message I would not hesitate to help you.
“This is not about politics. Not for me. It’s about being of service.”
Appreciate the gesture but actually I WROTE the script. And I stand by every word of it. And if your side was in govt & you asked me to do a science-based public health message I would not hesitate to help you. This is not about politics. Not for me. It’s about being of service https://t.co/5DnWOeh7Ow
— Magda Szubanski AO (@MagdaSzubanski) August 23, 2020
She’s not kidding about being of service, either. For the whole ad, Szubanski was paid a nominal sum of $2,000. That’s the same as the recovered coronavirus patients who shared their stories, and a whole lot less than she probably got paid for the UberEats ad earlier this year.
Shane Jacobson, Waleed Aly and Moana Hope were among the others who lent their personalities to the campaign. They, like the rest of us, seem pretty keen on knuckling down, wearing face masks and getting through this mess as quickly and easily as possible.
