Dust-up: Channel 10 slammed over ‘wage thief’ Calombaris

Channel 10 has defended bringing George Calombaris back into the fold as a contestant on The Masked Singer following his unceremonious departure as a judge on MasterChef.

Channel 10 has defended its decision to bring George Calombaris back into the fold.

Calombaris appeared last night as a contestant on The Masked Singer after his unceremonious departure as a judge on MasterChef.

He was the second celebrity eliminated from the reality singing show, outed as The Duster after showing off his prowess behind the microphone with his take on Ray Charles classic, Shake A Tail Feather.

“We were thrilled to have George Calombaris take part in The Masked Singer,” a Ten spokesman said. “His performance as Duster was loads of fun.”

George is the Duster on The Masked Singer. Picture: Ten/ Instagram

It comes as viewers lashed out online at Ten’s casting after Calombaris was fined $200,000 in 2019 for underpaying staff between 2011 and 2017.

One tweeted: “Just out of curiosity how much did George Calombaris get paid to do #themaskedsingerAU? I’m asking for his workers.”

Another tweeted: “The scooby gang unmasks their biggest villain yet: The multi million wage thief George Calombaris.”

Another online thought Calombaris’ casting was particularly unfair given the pandemic’s devastation on the hospitality industry: “Shame on you @Channel10AU for bringing George Calombaris back to TV on The Masked Singer. Way to sprinkle salt into the wounds of hospitality staff, especially during NSW and Vic Lockdowns “

Others were kinder with one generous viewer writing: “Lots of views like this about George Calombaris’ involvement on The Masked Singer. Surely at some point the guy deserves a chance to return to work. After all, other celebrities have done much worse (and been solely responsible for indiscretions) & been given new opportunities.”

It marked the 42-year-old’s return to Ten after his exit from MasterChef in 2019 with fellow judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan over a pay dispute.

The Masked Singer - Duster - George Calombaris is under the costume.

Former MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston.

On social media, Calombaris thanked Ten for the support.

“WHAT AN EXPERIENCE I CAN NOT EXPLAIN ON @themaskedsingerau,” he wrote after his elimination. “It pushed me out of my comfort zone and to my limits, but most importantly put smiles on my kids faces and demonstrated to them that in life all you have to do is ‘have a crack’! A big thanks to @channel10au who have ALWAYS believed in me!”

Originally published as Dust-up: Channel 10 slammed over ‘wage thief’ Calombaris