Cancel culture killed the comedy star: Wendy Harmer wouldn’t get back on the mic in 2023
Wendy Harmer has been around the stand-up comedy scene for decades, but her 2002 Logies hosting flop still haunts her. The successful author, radio and TV presenter said if it happened in the Twitter era “I don’t think I would have survived”.
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Australian comedian Wendy Harmer wouldn’t dare do stand-up in 2023.
The children’s author, radio host, and TV personality says comedians are still paid terribly, and the work is even tougher these days under the harsh eye of social media.
“I’ll probably do a bit of stand up. But um, I wouldn’t get back on the circuit again,” Harmer told Matty Johns on The Matty Johns Podcast on Monday.
“The money is sh-t. I mean, back in the day, when I was performing at the Botanical Hotel, at least I’d get a bottle of French and a gram of coke. These days, you get like two hundred bucks and a kick up the arse.”
Two decades on, Harmer’s 2002 Logies hosting flop still haunts her memories.
At a time when the event was struggling for viewers and dignity, Harmer presided over a ceremony so bad it became hardwired into television folklore as one of the worst on record.
At a producer’s request, Harmer made a series of jokes about TV shows being axed that hit an extremely sour note.
“I kind of underestimated really how crushed people were,” she said.
“The funny thing was that I had a completely different routine in mind. And the executive said: ‘Look, give it to them. Don’t be warm and cuddly like you know, get up them’. Worst advice ever,” the 67-year-old said.
“I came back to Sydney, and there was even paparazzi waiting for me at the airport to take my photo. The next day, there was sort of a celebrity lunch thing. And I walked through that door, and everything went dead quiet. And I thought, ‘Oh, my God, someone must have died’. And then I realised it was me.”
As it was, Harmer said it took her five years following the incident to rebuild her comedic confidence. Audiences forget mistakes, but on the internet they live forever.
“Can you imagine if I was doing the Logies and you know, people are tweeting about your gear, you know, in real time?” she reflected to Johns about the impact of cancel culture.
“I don’t think I would have survived.”
Harmer went on to become a Sydney fixture by front 2DAY FM’s high ranking Morning Crew from 1993-2004 and as a breakfast host of ABC 702, and her Pearlie children’s books about an urban fairy sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
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