‘Olivia must be cringing’: Delta Goodrem savaged for ‘awful’ performance in biopic of Grease star

DELTA Goodrem has been slammed for her “awful” performance as Olivia Newton-John in a new two-part series.

THEY are two of Australia’s best-known stars, but Delta Goodrem’s homage to Olivia Newton-John failed to impress some viewers.

The 33-year-old singer’s performance as the Grease icon in mini-series Olivia: Hopelessly Devoted To You was slammed as “awful” and a “debacle” after it screened last night.

“Olivia must be cringing,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “So bad.”

Another joked that it made them want to fake their own death and disappear to Mexico, a reference to Newton-John’s ex-partner Patrick McDermott, who was thought to have done exactly that after he vanished during a 2005 fishing trip.

“This is a struggle to keep watching,” one viewer tweeted, while another observed that “the paint on my wall dried quicker.”

Delta Goodrem as Olivia Newton-John in a new biopic.

Some viewers thought Morgan Griffin, who plays the young Olivia, put in a better performance than Delta, who starred in Neighbours before shifting focus to her singing.

Several people criticised the two-part Channel 7 production, calling it “dodgy” and “cheap”, and comparing it to “a dramatic reading of Olivia Newton John’s Wikipedia page.”

But a few gave the show positive reviews, revelling in the carefully recreated outfits and locations. One viewer said people had expected the biopic to be a trainwreck but it was, in fact, “quite good”.

And The Voice coach did have her fans, with some saying, “No one could have done it better” and calling her “out of this world”.

Best description not only of this debacle but Australian commercial TV dramatic output for the better part of 10 years. 👏 #Olivia https://t.co/QmH149rM7n

— Matt Rosich (@mattrdata) May 13, 2018

Bailing 9.50pm Perth time. No conflict, no drama, no interest. And the changeover from Griffin to Goodrem is a marked acting and believability downgrade. #Olivia

— Richard Hyde (@fake_rwhyde) May 13, 2018

@Channel7 the young woman playing Livvy could’ve taken the role all the way through. Her voice sounds like ONJ. Letting Delta do this as her vanity project was a mistake. #Olivia

— Natalie (@natrose38) May 13, 2018

Nah, Delta’s not even trying to be #Olivia. It’s just Delta in different wigs.

— Colin (@colinlong_au) May 13, 2018

I’ve watched 10 mins of #Olivia and I’m about to slip into a coma! Help!

— 🙈) Shakti (🐨🦓❤️👬 (@95shakti95) May 13, 2018

#Olivia " Australia is raving about Olivia"

Twitter: Have you read our tweets?

— Betty Kukoo (@miz_nats) May 13, 2018

She said she probably wouldn’t watch it, but accepted that it was going to happen whether she liked it or not, and wanted to see Delta star in it.

She eventually agreed to record two songs for the soundtrack, I Honestly Love You, with Delta in Los Angeles.

The two women are friends, with Newton-John becoming a mentor to the Born To Try singer after they met in New York when Delta was a starstruck seven-year-old.

There are many parallels between their lives and careers, with both writing hit albums as well as acting and fighting cancer. Newton-John, who had breast cancer, contacted Delta when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at 18.

Newton-John’s cancer battle, her stalker and her split from ex-husband Matt Lattanzi, played by Richard Brancatisano, are among the challenging moments portrayed in the two-part series.

Part Two of Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You airs on May 20 at 8.30pm on Seven.

Look, there were some dodgy accents not going to lie but I didn’t turn it off. I enjoyed it. I didn’t think I would and that’s being 100% honest. #HopelesslyDevotedToYou #Olivia

— Guy 🌱 #RenewTimeless (@greysfan) May 13, 2018

Delta has did the best she could in a half arsed production. #Olivia
7 shot the bolt early with the INXS biopic.

— John Matrix (@JohnMatrix86) May 13, 2018

Alright well I’m truly shook
The first episode was so much better then I expected Morgan done such a great job oh and @DeltaGoodrem girl the vocals and your acting skills 👏🏼
You are both doing #Olivia so much justice so far👏🏼 so proud ❤️

— THOMO✨ (@caitlynthomo) May 13, 2018

Originally published as ‘Olivia must be cringing’: Delta Goodrem savaged for ‘awful’ performance in biopic of Grease star