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Guy Sebastian is copping backlash after withdrawing his support for the live music industry’s #VaxTheNation ad campaign following backlash from anti-vaxxers.
And Sunrise hosts Natalie Barr and David ‘Kochie’ Koch shared their thoughts on Guy’s decision on Wednesday, with Nat in particular expressing disapproval.
The 53-year-old journalist said she was baffled by the singer’s backflip given that most public figures who endorse the Covid-19 vaccine face trolling online but they don’t cave into pressure after a few nasty comments on Instagram.
‘I mean, if you’re pro-vaccination like most of us are, then every day anti-vaxxers attack you online. Why would he have been shocked by that?’ she said.
Natalie’s remarks are notable given that Sunrise airs on Channel Seven, which is the same network that broadcasts The Voice, on which Guy serves as a celebrity coach.
Opinions: Sunrise hosts Natalie Barr (right) and David ‘Kochie’ Koch (left) shared their thoughts on Guy Sebastian’s decision to withdraw his support for a Covid vaccine ad campaign
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford responded: ‘Guy doesn’t like to make waves. He is a nice person and he doesn’t want people hating him, but the general mood out there at the moment is you’ve got to take a [pro-vaccination] stance.’
Kochie said Guy shouldn’t be slammed for backpedalling on the campaign, arguing he has every right to have reservations about vaccines.
‘We’ve lost the agree to disagree haven’t we?’ he said. ‘It’s “you do as I say or I’m going to hate you for it,”‘
Guy’s backflip was also a topic of discussion over on Nine’s Today Extra, with hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell offering their takes on the situation.
Gutless: Guy is copping backlash after withdrawing his support for the live music industry’s #VaxTheNation ad campaign following backlash from anti-vaxxers
David explained: ‘I think Guy does support vaccination. I think the confusion is when everyone is trying to say one thing and then he tries to play both sides a little bit.’
He added: ‘You can have a conversation and play both sides, but not on these issues and not on social media because what is going to happen is you’ll get hate and that will get put on [another platform] for other people who don’t even care to troll you.
‘It’s a mess for him, a mess for his management and I hope we can remember that #VaxTheNation is the most important thing.’
Belinda agreed, insisting Guy’s message about the vaccine campaign wasn’t clear.
‘He did try and say he was talking about people with underlying medical issues [having a right to refuse the vaccine] but it wasn’t clear,’ she said.
‘Why would he have been shocked by that?’ Natalie said she was baffled by the singer’s backflip given that most public figures who endorse the Covid-19 vaccine face trolling online but they don’t cave into pressure after a few nasty comments on Instagram
The #VaxTheNation movement is urging Aussies to get vaccinated in order to stop the cycle of lockdowns and help restart the live music industry.
Guy had endorsed the campaign on Instagram on Monday, but deleted the post just hours later after fierce backlash from anti-vaxxers.
He then uploaded a bizarre video apologising to fans.
Guy said the campaign video was posted to his page ‘without his involvement’ and that he had only wanted to support and reopen the entertainment industry, not to preach to people about their personal vaccination choices.
‘Hello, everybody. I just wanted to jump on here to clear something up,’ he said in the clip posted on Monday night.
‘I’m sure some of you today might have seen an industry call-out with the best of intentions for our live music industry, which is absolutely decimated, trying to find a pathway forward so we can all assemble together again.
‘It’s a mess for him!’ Channel Nine’s Today Extra hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell also discussed the singer’s controversial decision on Wednesday
‘I’ve always done everything that I can to support my industry but the campaign was posted to my page without my direct involvement.
‘And while I, like everyone else in my industry, want things to get going again, it is not my role to communicate in the way that post was communicated.’
‘I would never ever tell people what to do when it comes to their personal health choices,’ Sebastian added, in reference to the Covid vaccine.
‘I’m very sensitive of it, not only at a public level but even in my personal life with people who have had circumstances that they have to consider when making these choices.’
Sorry: Sebastian had endorsed the campaign on Instagram on Monday, but deleted the post just hours later after fierce backlash from anti-vaxxers. He then uploaded a video apologising to fans
He continued: ‘I just want to say I’m really sorry. It was not a post that was communicated with love or compassion, which I feel is what’s needed when it comes to addressing things like vaccinations.
‘I just wanted to clarify that so that I could speak my truth and people know how I actually feel. So lots of love.’
Guy spoke to talkback radio host Ray Hadley on 2GB on Tuesday morning and insisted he was not anti-vax.
Clarification: Guy spoke to Talkback radio host Ray Hadley (pictured) on 2GB on Tuesday and insisted he is not anti-vax. ‘I haven’t said that I don’t support vaccinations, I’m double jabbed myself,’ he said
‘I haven’t said that I don’t support vaccinations, I’m double jabbed myself. In my message, I said I support the initiative I just think when the message is delivered it shouldn’t be done in a way to shame the people who don’t fall into an anti-vax category,’ he said.
More than 400 Australian artists and performers have joined forces to launch the #VaxTheNation campaign.
Powderfinger, Jimmy Barnes, Tim Minchin, Courtney Barnett, Celeste Barber, Vance Joy, Em Rusciano, Marcia Hines, Midnight Oil and Amy Shark are just some of the big names encouraging fans to get the vaccine to help restart the live music industry.
Campaign: More than 400 Australian artists and performers have joined forces to launch the #VaxTheNation campaign. The #VaxTheNation movement is urging Aussies to get vaccinated in order to stop the cycle of lockdowns and help restart the live music industry
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