Viewers criticise Project hosts over Tom Gleeson grilling

Viewers have accused The Project’s hosts of appearing bitter during an interview with controversial Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson.

Viewers have criticised The Project’s Waleed Aly for appearing to be a “sore loser” during an interview with Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson last night.

The Hard Quiz host appeared on The Project off the back of his highly controversial night at the annual TV awards show, where he scooped up the coveted top prize over rivals including Aly and Amanda Keller.

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RELATED: What you’re missing in Logies fury

Tom Gleeson won this year’s Gold Logie. Picture: Nine

Gleeson’s pre-Logies campaign was highly divisive — some industry peers were publicly critical of his political-style attack ads aimed at fellow nominees, while plenty of viewers loved the joke.

In an interview on The Project last night, Aly found himself in the somewhat awkward position of having to grill Gleeson on behalf of this year’s unsuccessful Gold Logie nominees — including himself — who lost out to someone who openly ridiculed the award.

“A lot of the subtext to the whole campaign was kind of undermining to people who’d really worked hard in careers on TV for a long time who maybe did want to win it … Do you have any sympathy for those people?” Aly asked Gleeson.

“I disagree with what you’re saying. What I was having a go at was how the awards are put together — I mean, it’s a popular vote, so you can garner votes however you want, and I just chose to do it in a funny way,” Gleeson argued. “So I had to be sarcastic. That’s my stock in trade.”

“I‘m not disputing that that was a valid option for you, but what people are saying is that there were parts where you were basically slamming anyone who does take it seriously, or at least, that’s how it came across,” Aly continued.

“I’m thinking particularly of the Amanda Keller situation — for someone who’s worked really hard in the industry … Do you have any sympathy for their position?”

But according to Gleeson, he had seen Keller just hours beforehand at the airport, and she had assured him she found the whole thing “funny”.

“She has a sense of humour — she would actually be offended by the idea that I felt sorry for her,” the comedian said.

“So, I find it hard to do that because if I do, I’m denying her a sense of humour, and she was finding it funny.”

Many viewers at home weren’t impressed with Aly’s line of questioning, pointing out it sounded like a case of sour grapes.

Waleed needs to get off his high horse. You’re not better than everybody else and Tom wasn’t trying to insult everybody. He has worked hard for many years. It’s harder to make a living as a comedian than as a tv host so lay off and issue an apology -#logies2019

— n 🤘🏻 (@wildowlheart) July 1, 2019

You guys really looked like sore losers tonight. I think you’d better take a look at why you’re here and the fact that @theprojecttv wouldn’t be on air if it weren’t for the viewing public. Not a good look to scorn that same viewing public’s choice.

— Jon Shriver (@thejonshriver) July 1, 2019

'The desk' taking it all a bit too seriously. It's a #logie, it's a popular vote and @ABCTV viewers get #satire

— Lorraine (@65georgiegirl) July 1, 2019

Are you suggesting Tom doesn’t work hard Waleed?

— 💧🌱LadyBatGirlKimberley (@earthma23) July 1, 2019

The Project be like... pic.twitter.com/A1MLOnfhWO

— Scott Vaessen (@TabbitaFarmCo) July 1, 2019

Waleed more critical of Tom than he was of Scott Morrison

— n 🤘🏻 (@wildowlheart) July 1, 2019

Yeh, Waleed has now sunken in my opinion. You may say who cares, but if he has in mine, then he has in others. I truly thought he was better than that.

— 💧🌏 🌳 Macca (@marc_marcmc) July 1, 2019

Earlier in the interview, Gleeson rubbished claims he “destroyed the Logies” with his controversial Gold Logie campaign and subsequent win.

“Do you feel that you actually did the event itself an injustice by the way that you carried on?” Steve Price asked him.

“Steve, I do not think that I’m that powerful. I think I was actually entertaining all the people at home, not the people in the room. There were only like 600 people in the room, I was going for the million at home.”

During his acceptance speech on Sunday night, Gleeson took a stab at last year’s Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer, who had openly condemned his negative campaign in the lead-up to this year’s event.

Despite the back-and-forth, Gleeson made it clear on The Project he was actually grateful to the Celebrity Name Game host for being such a good sport.

“I would like to thank Grant Denyer because, last year, he won the Gold Logie and I hijacked his whole campaign, and he rolled with it in good spirits, and he was always in on the joke and having a great time, and now we’ve got one each,” said Gleeson.

“There’s no feud, in fact, I’m going on Celebrity Name Game, so if he’s got anything he wants to say to me, he can rip into me then.”