Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy were spotted entering an anonymous looking building a stone’s throw from the White House in Washington DC on US election night.
But why? Because Turnbull was appearing as a guest on UK TV network Channel 4 News’ live coverage.
US porn star Stormy Daniels and former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.Credit: AP; Alex Ellinghausen
And it is fair to say it was light years away from the local TV News offerings. In the studio, lawyer Michael Cohen, a former fixer for Donald Trump before their falling out, had time for a selfie with adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels (Trump was convicted of covering up a hush money deal with her).
The coverage was “both serious and fun”, our man in the US told CBD. Turnbull, who has his own Defending Democracy podcast on the LiSTNR network, arrived “looking very presidential” according to onlookers.
PM29 was on air with US senator Cory Booker, who got thoroughly Malcolmed and struggled to get a word in.
Turnbull told C4 the world cannot understand the support for Trump in the wake of the January 6 attacks on the Capitol.
“He has a teflon quality which is extraordinary and his ability to persuade the vast amount of Republicans that he in fact won the 2020 election must be the most audacious gaslighting ever,” Turnbull said.
The great man was certainly a contrast to former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who had appeared earlier and couldn’t stop plugging his new book. At one stage C4 host Krishnan Guru-Murthy informed viewers: “Boris Johnson has been fired for banging on about his book.”
Sing it loud
The whooping, mostly female crowd at the annual Crown Oaks Club Lunch got more than chicken or fish when Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan joined singer and honorary Australian Ronan Keating on stage for a celebratory singalong.
Ronan Keating and Robbie Dolan at the Oaks Club lunch.Credit: Lucas Dawson
On top of proving quite handy on top of a horse, Dolan, as some now know, has a great voice, and once made it to the top 24 of reality singing contest The Voice.
The Irishmen joined forces in front of a fascinator-clad crowd old enough to remember Boyzone to sing When You Say Nothing At All and the classic Brown Eyed Girl. Dolan was clutching the famous Cup the whole time.
The luncheon crowd was thick with some of the Melbourne Cup Carnival’s burgeoning number of ambassadors, including Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne, Olympian Ariarne Titmus, Crystal Kimber-Peters and Paralympian Emma Booth.
But when it came to the finale, Keating’s hit Rollercoaster, Dolan couldn’t keep up his on-stage charm and admitted he didn’t know the words. But as the most popular guy in the room – by a photo finish over the ebullient Keating – Dolan was easily forgiven.
The “star-studded” guest list was topped by special guest of the Victoria Racing Club Elizabeth Hurley and her son, Damian Hurley.
CBD had heard that Hurley was going to participate in a Q&A, but the actor vanished before dessert quicker than Knight’s Choice on Cup Day. Maybe that was our imagination or maybe Hurley tired of too many over-excited guests asking for selfies?
Hanson in Hanoi
In her infamous maiden speech to parliament in 1996, Pauline Hanson declared that Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Asians”.
Nearly two decades on, the One Nation leader was looking to hold a fundraiser at a Vietnamese restaurant. Specifically, Little Hanoi in the Perth beachside suburb of Rockingham, where Hanson was to be the guest of honour at a $30-a-head dinner.
The menu included stir-fried beef noodles and roasted chicken rice, which is a bit different from the meat and three veg or whatever One Nation voters are used to. Although we’re sure they’ve specially requested non-spicy.
While Hanson’s culinary choices might have evolved a little from her fish-and-chip shop days, the One Nation leader’s propensity for nasty bile hasn’t dimmed, with the Federal Court last week ruling that she’d racially discriminated against Pakistan-born Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
She’s appealing the decision, and asking friends to chip in $1 million to fund her latest legal battle. As for the fundraiser, that might also be headed for an unhappy ending, with the restaurant telling CBD the event was off.