Logies 2019: Grant Denyer says Tom Gleeson could ruin Logies forever

Grant Denyer has slammed comedian Tom Gleeson for “effectively taking the piss” with his campaign for the Gold Logie.

Grant Denyer has said if Tom Gleeson wins the Gold Logie this Sunday, it could spell the end of the Logies forever.

Denyer, who won the Gold Logie last year, vented his frustration about Gleeson and Sam Mac’s Logies campaigns on the 2Day FM breakfast show this morning.

“It’s become a joke this year,” he said about the Gold Logie race, which is determined by public votes. “Two of the loudest Gold nominees are just effectively taking the piss.”

Sunrise weatherman Mac has a campaign bus and has been crisscrossing the nation this week to encourage people to vote for him at www.tvweeklogieawards.com.au.

Make sure you give @MrSamMac a wave or a toot if you see his #TVWeekLogies campaign bus on the road this week! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CmnyZBcWGp

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 24, 2019

RELATED: Full list of Logie nominees

Hard Quiz host Gleeson has released a serious of tongue-in-cheek attack ads about his fellow nominees and has mocked them in interviews.

“He’s slagging everyone off,” Denyer said about Gleeson.

“He’s having a crack at Amanda Keller. She’s divine, she deserves to win. She’s been in it for 35 years. She’s not doing it because it’s a joke, she’s not ripping the heart out of the Logies. It would mean the world to her to win.

“She is a game-changer and a groundbreaker, she’s wonderfully warm, incredibly whip smart and deserves it, however Tom Gleeson is just taking all the headlines,” Denyer said. “I’m worried if he wins, that’s it for the Logies forever.”

2019 Gold Logie nominees: Tom Gleeson, Sam Mac, Eve Morey, Amanda Keller, Rodger Corser and Costa Georgiadis. Missing is Waleed Aly.

Gleeson has boasted about the fact he thinks the Logies are a bit of a joke, but he still wants to take home the Gold trophy on Sunday night.

“I’m in this weird position. I do think the campaigning is funny, and I don’t take the awards seriously at all — but that just makes the idea of winning it even more hilarious,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The idea of my name being called out and me getting my hands on it … It just sort of makes me laugh.

“I’m just reminding everyone not to take the Logies too seriously, and I suspect that’s the way most of Australia sees it. I feel like if people are being offended by my antics, maybe they should reflect on their own ambitions.”

To win the Gold Logie you have to fight dirty. Going negative works. Here's my Amanda Keller attack ad. #tvweeklogies #Gleeson4Gold Vote here now: https://t.co/oIgKOm3nip pic.twitter.com/G85CVsC6lM

— Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) June 23, 2019

RELATED: Gold Logie nominees turn on Tom Gleeson

On the 2Day FM breakfast show this morning, Denyer also criticised Gleeson for hijacking his Gold Logie campaign last year.

At the time Family Feud had just been axed, and Gleeson urged people to vote for Denyer, saying, “Let’s push the Logies to its most absurd extreme ever and give the Gold Logie to a guy that doesn’t have a TV show.”

Denyer won, but he said on radio his win was forever tainted by Gleeson’s antics.

Tom Gleeson at the 2018 Logie Awards.

“He (Gleeson) jumped on at the 11th hour and basically took over my campaign,” Denyer said. “I didn’t ask him to, I didn’t really want him to, but I had no choice in that.

“Everybody in the country now thinks I won the award because of him, and if I’m honest, that sh*ts me.

“He’s done interview after interview after interview claiming the victory last year. Forget the 20 years of work I put in to get to that particular point … I didn’t even ask for him to jump on board my campaign.”

2018 TV Week Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Gleeson is listed as the favourite to win this year’s Gold Logie by both Sportsbet and TAB, with Keller in second place.

Live voting for the Gold Logie and the other “Most Popular” categories will remain open at www.tvweeklogieawards.com.au until the end of the red carpet telecast on Sunday night.

The TV WEEK Logie Awards are on this Sunday. The Red Carpet Arrivals show kicks off at 7pm on Channel 9, and the live broadcast of the awards starts at 7.30pm.