Magda Szubanski addresses Twitter controversy
Damage control interview may not have helped cool controversy for upcoming Nine host.
- Published by David Knox
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Upcoming host of The Weakest Link Magda Szubanski addressed criticisms of a political tweet which has drawn headlines, in an interview on A Current Affair.
Szubanski took to social media over a photo of Mrs Morrison standing near her husband, PM Scott Morrison, while he signed a condolence book for Prince Philip following the royal’s death.
She likened the photo to a scene from The Handmaid’s Tale, saying it resembled an internet meme.
“I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaid’s Tale meme. But no. It’s 21st century Aussie life,” she tweeted.
She told ACA, “.. it was a strange PR photograph and all I’m suggesting is with that comment. Why would you put something that looks like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ as a photo op? Scott Morrison is the master of spin.'”
She denied specific criticism of Jenny Morrison in her tweet.
“Look, I don’t want to hurt her, of course I don’t. I do think that if she’s going to be in public life, we need to know more about her.”
Tracy: Do you feel sorry for (Jenny Morrison)?"
Full interview tonight on A Current Affair from 7.00. #9ACA pic.twitter.com/HMNTaKjM6N— A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) April 14, 2021
But she also noted Scott Morrison had frequently referenced his wife in speeches, using her as a policy advisor.
“If she’s going to have some sort of influence in public life I want to know, what are her values? What kind of a woman is she?”
Szubanski acknowledged an earlier tweet in which she questioned a “hand signal thingy” in a Morrison family photo was “probably silly.”
The Weakest Link is due to screen on Nine in coming months. Casting applications close tomorrow.
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- Tagged with A Current Affair, The Handmaid's Tale, The Weakest Link
25 Responses
I smell a stunt.
Disclaimer: I don’t like Scott Morrison or the LNP, I didn’t even know his wife’s first name before now, but I also haven’t liked bleeding-heart Magda Szubanski since her Pixie days (she was ok in Kath and Kim).
If you are going to make pro-feminist statements in the past then you can’t belittle a woman connecting her appearance with the Handmaid’s Tale and adding a bitchy little comment saying “…But no. It’s 21st century Aussie life”. People will point out your hypocrisy. People will point out you are reducing a woman to an appendage of her husband.
She seems to be doubling down and blaming Scott Morrison for putting his wife out there – a strange way to dehumanise Jenny further. To then suggest that Jenny needs now to ‘reveal’ more about her values since she has a public role (just to deflect from your own behaviour) – the arrogance!
If this was that Butterfield idiot or another male comedian, nothing would have been made of it.
The full interview is on the Current Affair website. I guess if Magda had just limited herself to say she thought it was photoshopped image/Bad PR and thought it was set up…then fine a non-event. But she made the interview very political commenting on the PM, His wife’s influence on politics, bringing up Australia Post and this country is influenced by right wing Christians. Really? Clearly her twitter comments had an agenda. So her backpedaling does not sound too genuine.
Lots of hand wringing over a very innocuous comment: if a male comedian had posted it (and many did post similar), this would have been ignored.
Women get cancelled, men get promoted
Absolutely – similar-ish comments from Magda and Shaun Micallef (as a male example, as you say, many more) on the photo – very different treatment after their comments.
Did someone say “respect all women” ?? ohh it only applies to men, ok
Magda’s interview on ACA was on 14/04 – where she responded to comments she made online about a photo of the PM and his wife. Lots of hands in the air responses, that Magda is not respecting other women. 14/04 is the same day that the PM refused to apologise to Christine Holgate after tearing her reputation apart in Parliament in 2020. I see where the real disrespect of women is coming from.
Spot on
Yet again I’m thinking about the 1995 film, ‘The Last Supper’ with Cameron Diaz. This movie has been on my mind every week for the past few months depending on whom has said what about something. IMO the media decide who are the villains and who are the heroes so many times.
Last line definitely…
You are the weakest link. Goodbye!
Blimey, if Magda is getting it for this astute piece of witty commentary, she’s got no hope in actually fulfilling the brief of Weakest Link host.
Tracy Grimshaw was extremely good in this interview. Imagine if the right went picking on the left’s women like Madga did to Mrs Morrison! Madga is one big hypocrite, won’t be watching The Wokest Link now!
Absolutely appalling that ACA gave the softly softly approach to Magda for putting down a woman based on her appearance, I thought we had moved on from such behaviour, surely Tracey who has experienced this herself shouldn’t have been turning a blind eye to it either for network promotion, I guess if it’s your networks star negative comments against other women is OK? What a confusing world.
Have you seen the photo? It looks so staged and Magda is expressing what a lot of people think. In the photo, the Queen’s photo is on the desk, and Shaun Micallef’s take on this is how insensitive it is to be writing to someone who has recently lost their spouse to pose with a photo of you without your spouse and have your spouse looking on. However, his comments have not attracted the same media attention as Magda Szubanski’s. As for Tracy going easy on Magda compared to her interview with the PM, oh please. He is the leader of this country dealing with multiple issues including an alleged rape in Parliament house and needs to answer some tough questions.
When I saw the pic I did think, is it really that different to a Mad as Hell gag? Magda is a comedian so I didn’t find it that a big deal, perhaps aim the arrow more clearly at PM tho.
I agree the PM deserves greater scrutiny..but Magda was let off very easiy ..especially given how Tracy has harped on about women’s issues for months.
It really does sound like a double standard. Who cares what a woman wears or whether she dyes her hair? If a woman wants to wear make-up or not, it’s up to her. Don’t judge someone based on such trivial things.
I think this is a clear case of why entertainers should just stick to entertainment and not politics, if you want to do politics then go into it, but pandering to the twitter crowd for satisfaction is a dangerous game because you can go from hero to zero very quickly
Totally agree! If you start loosing jobs and income for pushing your political views you have nobody to blame but yourself. So consider your audience.
Watching current affair this was all new to me.Seeing the picture I did not know it was the prime ministers wife but a personal assistant waiting for signed papers.I think Magda did absolutely nothing wrong.
Fascinating interview and Tracey did it carefully with the weakest link to air soon. Magda has lost me and I won’t be watching her new show Such double standards. I find it fascinating. Watching somebody who is so pro-women attack another female for her dress and not having make up on. Imagine a male making those comments Remember the crap Julia Gillard copped about the way she dressed. I thought we as a society had learnt something since then but clearly not.
I think tracy gave magda a free pass during that interview
..very different to how she treated the pm last week. Tracy is great but i think her bias is showing.
I used to be a fan but not anymore. There has been a couple of things mentioned in recent times and not this incident only. I will probably avoid The Weakest Link now. In a marketing sense, this is a classic damage control interview, but if the brand is too damaged, it might be necessary to think of changing the branding for The Weakest Link revival.