Vanity Fair profile of Margot Robbie slammed on social media

Vanity Fair’s profile on actress Margot Robbie has gained traction in Australia, but for all the wrong reasons.

Margot Robbie on the August cover of Vanity Fair. Picture: Patrick Demarchelier

If there’s one thing Australians will not stand for, it is being ridiculed by America.

Such was the case when a Vanity Fair profile on “our” movie star Margot Robbie popped up online, describing Australia as “America 50 years ago” and Australians as “throwback people”.

Writer Rich Cohen, whom it would seem has never stepped foot Down Under, pens that we “still live and die with the plot turns of soap operas in Melbourne and Perth, still dwell in a single mass market in Adelaide and Sydney”. Say what?

The article has also been panned as “creepy” and “awkward” on social media, helped by observations such as this: “She is blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character. As I said, she is from Australia.”

This paragraph is a declaration of war https://t.co/Cve3eq9r24 pic.twitter.com/iSpO72gzKV

— David Mack (@davidmackau) July 6, 2016

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"She is from Australia. To understand her you should think about what that means. She's upside-down like ninety percent of the time".

— Jo Thornely (@jothornely) July 6, 2016

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Australians have taken to social media to express their outrage, with many pointing out that with gun laws, a decent minimum wage and universal healthcare, the country is hardly “America 50 years ago”. In fact, you could say we’re miles ahead.

Vanity Fair called Australia "America 50 years ago". Come back when you get gun laws. #vanityfair

— Kieran L (@kieran_shaker) July 7, 2016

Royal Commission into Vanity Fair's Representations of Australia

— Stephen Murray (@smurray38) July 6, 2016

Dear @VanityFair, you claim Australia is a throwback to America 50 years ago but at least our police don't shoot about 1000 people per year.

— Paul Nolan (@pwnolan) July 7, 2016

There is some good news, though. Tomorrow, in The Weekend Australian Magazine, you’ll find a piece on Margot Robbie. It’s well written, insightful and not in the least bit offensive to Australia. Well, except maybe her comment at the end.