Hard Quiz host Tom Gleeson didn’t know if he would win the 2019 TV Week Gold Logie, but he did know a victory would piss off a fair chunk of the Australian viewing public. On the morning after his irreverent victory, it appears he succeeded in his goal.
Tom Gleeson takes out the Gold Logie! #TVWeekLogies pic.twitter.com/H71eLZM0Xz
— Channel 9 (@Channel9) June 30, 2019
Gleeson, who sought fan votes with a promise to undermine the premise of Australian television’s most prestigious award, has received a sincere backlash from viewers and media personalities who think the award should, you know, mean something.
Former independent senator and radio personality Derryn Hinch lashed out at Gleeson on Twitter, asking why the comedian wanted to tarnish the legacy of an award won by someone as widely respected as Daryl Somers.
If Tom Gleeson wanted to kill the Gold Logie, maybe he just did. Ray Martin, Graham Kennedy, Mike Walsh, Bert Newton, Daryl Somers… and Tom Gleeson? And he’s mocking it
— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) June 30, 2019
Question: Why would the audience all be applauding a joke winner of the Gold Logie?
— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) June 30, 2019
Other media figures have lambasted the host for tarnishing what would have been a career milestone for fellow contenders Amanda Keller, Rodger Corser, Eve Morey, Costa Georgiadis, 2016 winner Waleed Aly, and Sam Mac.
In a discussion with Studio 10 host Sarah Harris, entertainment reporter Peter Ford expressed his concerns that potential winners “missed out on their chance last night” because of Gleeson’s deliberately smarmy antics.
I just find it weird he’d take on the mission of winning it so as to allow himself the chance to publicly deride it. I don’t think anybody confuses Gold Logie with the Nobel Prize but it does mean something a lot of people and some of those missed out on their chance last night.
— Peter Ford (@mrpford) June 30, 2019
Pockets of viewers have also expressed their disappointment in the win.
“There’s a line between being satirical & being just rude and he very much so crossed that line,” one viewer tweeted. “There are others that the Award would meaningfully acknowledge and lift and change Australian culture for the better,” added another.
“But no, same shit. He thinks he’s different? He’s not.”
While Gleeson’s speech rankled viewers, it also garnered significant support from those who do recognise the inherent silliness of a televised entertainment event celebrating televised entertainment.
Viewers have expressed their gratitude that someone had the wherewithal to hang shit on the event.
Tom Gleeson is a brilliant comic, the #Logies are inherently absurd, and treating them seriously is a sign of illness. If next year everyone openly mocked the whole thing it would show a healthier industry.
— Ben Pobjie (@benpobjie) June 30, 2019
A handful of speeches have made this one of the better #TVWeekLogies in years.
Kerry O’Brien and Tom Gleeson have really nailed how I feel about the media and this country.— poet laureate (@realDeanCool) June 30, 2019
Tom Gleeson won the gold Logie and MY LORD people are furious. He’s a comedian, he’s going to take the piss out of mostly everything. Some people don’t have a sense of humour anymore ????????♀️
— Bree (@Breesmithy) June 30, 2019
Now that we know Tom Gleeson’s won, I’m seriously considering muting his name on Twitter for the next week. He won fair and square, and made the otherwise monotonous Logies entertaining.
He won, HARD!#Logies2019 #LogieAwards
— Hugo Hickey (@HugoHickey) June 30, 2019
Watch this space to see how the other contenders react to Gleeson’s win.
Image: Darren England / AAP Image
