Em Rusciano exposes star’s offensive on-air gesture

Em Rusciano was shocked when a famous singer made an offensive gesture towards her in the middle of an interview.

Em Rusciano has opened up about a painfully-awkward celebrity encounter, during which a famous singer “sat there with his middle finger up at me for the whole interview”.

The multi-talented entertainer shared the story during a wide-ranging chat with news.com.au to promote her new show, Outgrown, which is set to tour the country in July/August.

Worst celebrity interview

Rusciano has met a lot of celebrities throughout her showbiz career, mostly thanks to her many years on breakfast radio in both Perth and Sydney.

“Meryl Streep was amazing,” Rusciano told news.com.au. “But my favourite ever interview was Lady Gaga.”

Rusciano met the singer in Perth 2009 when she was in the country opening for The Pussycat Dolls on their Doll Domination Tour.

“It was Gaga in full flight,” Rusciano recalled. “She was a rock star … and the self belief that she had was oozing, and she did not disappoint.”

But there was a different singer who definitely did disappoint Rusciano.

“I interviewed the lead singer of Snow Patrol and we got told before the interview, ‘don’t bring up the fact their song (Chasing Cars) got huge on Grey’s Anatomy, they don’t like to talk about it.’”

Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Em says Sam Mac was her fave radio co-host. Picture: Kerris Berrington

Rusciano decided to make a fleeting mention of the song and TV show at the start of the interview, just to give listeners a bit of context about who she was interviewing.

It did not go down well with singer Gary Lightbody.

“For the rest of the interview, the lead singer sat there with his middle finger up at me,” Rusciano said.

“It was wild. Everybody could see he was doing it. Me and my co-host were so shocked.”

The radio hosts did their best to ignore the singer’s antics and carry on with the chat, as they “just wanted the interview to be OK”.

“I’m sure he’s a lovely guy but I just annoyed him and he really made a strong choice,” Rusciano laughed.

TV show snubs

Rusciano’s had a 20-year long career in the entertainment industry, but one medium she feels she hasn’t been able to crack is commercial TV.

“I’ve gone for lots of shows,” she told news.com.au.

“I always get down to the last two. I’m their ‘quirky’ option, I’m their ‘dangerous’ choice. Me, the white middle class suburban mother,” she joked.

Rusciano was reluctant to name the shows she’d auditioned for in the past, apart from one.

“I did actually miss out on one show that I was really sad about,” she said. “I got down to the last two for the It’s A Knockout reboot and I really wanted that because I grew up loving It’s A Knockout.”

The 80s TV show was revived in 2011 by Channel 10, with HG Nelson, Charli Robinson and Brad McEwan featuring as hosts.

“I lost a lot of gigs to her (Charli Robinson),” Rusciano said. “And Shelley Craft.”

HG Nelson, Charli Robinson and Brad McEwan from It’s A Knockout. Picture: Ten

Rusciano told news.com.au that she hasn’t given up on TV just yet.

“I’ve always wanted to make my own TV show,” she said. “I want a big, shiny floor variety show where I’m Judy Garland, I’m Graham Norton, I’ve got guests, I’m singing with the band.

“I’ve just got to get successful enough that I can self produce it, which is what I do with my podcast, what I do with everything now, my production company makes it.”

Outgrown tour

Rusciano recently announced that she’s hitting the road for her first national tour since 2019.

She’s set to perform 15 shows around the country in July/August, with Outgrown to tell the story of her chaotic life of late.

“I was diagnosed with ADHD, I found out I was autistic and then I found out I was in early menopause,” she told news.com.au.

Outgrown will feature stand-up, singing, dancing and puppetry.

Em’s new tour is called Outgrown.

She’s set to perform 15 shows.

“This show in particular is a bit of a love letter to the neurodivergent community and I hope that neurotypical people come along and it feels like they’re sitting inside my brain for 90 minutes, because I really want to give an experience and a road map as to how I experience the world,” she said.

Outgrown will be a multi-sensory experience with soundscapes, lighting and “actual physical things falling from the roof”.

“I want people to feel magical. You know that feeling when your mum first put those glowing stars on your roof and turned the lights off when you were a kid? I want that feeling in my audience.”

Em Rusciano’s Outgrown Tour will travel the country in July/August. Ticket info here.

Originally published as Em Rusciano exposes star’s offensive on-air gesture