Rudd plays a straight bat on Rove

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd may have been worried about his prime-time appearance alongside Bruno on Rove last night, but it appears he came through smelling of roses.

Yesterday he said on his Twitter account he was wary of appearing next to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Austrian fashion reporter, asking his followers: “Any ideas guys about how I can get out of this one?”

But after a week in which Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull spectacularly failed to secure the Prime Minister’s scalp over the fake OzCar email, Mr Rudd was always going to like his chances of a sympathetic audience on national TV.

He used an interview with Rove McManus to explain his stance on the OzCar affair, and answered the traditional “Five Questions” from the popular television personality.

Gone were the stilted colloquialisms that have been typical of Mr Rudd’s staged media performances, but McManus didn’t let the PM get away without confronting his now infamous “fair shake of the sauce bottle” remark.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

“How many times a day do you actually shake the sauce bottle?” asked the host.

Mr Rudd parried back with “not often enough,” earning the approval of many Twitterers who were watching the show.

“Sauce bottle joke – awesome! ‘Not often enough’,” said one blogger, while another said they had a “lot more respect” for Mr Rudd after his appearance.

Twitter was alive with chatter about the Prime Minister’s cameo, with topics like “Rove”, “Rudd” and “KevinRuddPM” among the most talked about on the microblogging service.

Channel 10 and the Prime Minister’s office would have both been happy with that result – Mr Rudd’s appearance on Australian television was getting as much debate as “Iranelection” and “Michaeljackson”.

While some bloggers dismissed his appearance as awkward and cringeworthy, most reactions were positive, with one lamenting the fact that Bruno did not share the stage with the PM.

Mr Rudd said he was nervous when he found out the comedian was going to be on the show, telling McManus: “Basically I’m in a state of induced panic.”

Perhaps it is lucky for Mr Rudd that they did not share the stage because Bruno’s appraisal was straight to the point: “Your Prime Minister? That guy I saw backstage? He’s so hot.”

Parliament has risen for six weeks, Mr Turnbull’s approval ratings have taken a huge dive in the wake of the OzCar affair and Rove’s audience likes the Prime Minister.

Source  :  www.abc.net.au

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PM Rudd launches Australia’s WCup bids

SYDNEY (AFP) — Prime Minister Kevin Rudd officially launched Australia’s bid to host the football World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

Rudd told an official ceremony at Parliament House in the national capital Canberra that Football Federation Australia (FFA) had the full backing of the government to bid for the showpiece event.

“The sheer odds are tough against Australia, eight other countries, but the reason the government had got behind the bid is that we as a nation can rise behind this great bid,” Rudd said.

The premier said the chance to host a World Cup was a great opportunity for the nation.                               

“The challenges are great, but the prize is much greater,” he said.

“I salute those who have had the courage and the initiative and creativity to bring forth this idea.”

English Premier League stars, national skipper Lucas Neill and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, also spoke at the launch, urging Australians to throw their support behind the World Cup bid.

FFA chairman Frank Lowy said it would be an “unparalleled opportunity” for Australia to earn official acceptance as a World Cup host.

“On the world stage, there is no event with the same level of global appeal or audience reach as the FIFA World Cup,” the property billionaire said in a statement.

Lowy said Australia?s “secret weapon” for winning the World Cup bid was the Australian people, and Australia’s desirability as a travel destination.

“People from all over the world want to visit our country and thanks to the performance of the Socceroos at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, as well as the many thousands of Australian fans who followed them, the rest of the world has a very positive view of us.”

Lowy also pointed to Australia’s record of hosting successful major sports events such as the 1956 and 2000 Olympic Games.

Australia are among nine bidders, along with Belgium-Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Portugal-Spain, Russia and the United States, for the 2018 World Cup.

The same nine bidders are also in the running for the 2022 World Cup, along with Qatar and South Korea.

World football governing body FIFA will announce both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts in December 2010.

Australia have already qualified to play in next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

Source  :  www.google.com

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Ramsay fires back at Grimshaw

Days after a public rant aimed at Tracy Grimshaw, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has fired a second volley branding the TV presenter “sad” and “bitter” for defending herself.

Ramsay denied calling the Nine Network veteran a lesbian at a weekend appearance at Melbourne’s Good Food and Wine Show during which he also allegedly compared her to a pig, using an offensive photo as a prop.

Ramsay on Tuesday said he was “deeply mortified” that his intended joke had been blown out of proportion – and that was before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the chef’s comments reflected a “new form of low life”.

Mr Rudd’s deputy Julia Gillard and Health Minister Nicola Roxon joined the fray, saying Ramsay should confine himself to the kitchen and stop abusing women.

But there was no remorse from the TV chef after Grimshaw used her A Current Affair program on Monday to take him to task over his food show rant.

Ramsay on Tuesday said he’d never used the word “lesbian” to describe Grimshaw, and said she herself was guilty of a “disgusting” attack on his wife Tana, who’s due in Australia in two weeks.

“She’s obviously doing it for the ratings,” he said of Grimshaw, speaking to reporters after a run along Melbourne’s Yarra River.

On Monday, Grimshaw branded Ramsay a bully and an “arrogant narcissist”. She said he’d made “uninformed insinuations” at the food show about her sexuality, and she told her viewers she was not gay.

Grimshaw said that before a recent interview for her program, Ramsay had insisted she refrain from asking about his private life following allegations of a long-running extra-marital affair.

“We all know why,” she said.

She added: “… I’m not surprised by any of this. We’ve all seen how Gordon Ramsay treats his wife – and he supposedly loves her. We’re all just fodder to him.”

Asked if he could understand how Grimshaw felt, Ramsay told reporters: “I never once said the word lesbian, I was having a tongue-in-cheek joke – it was not at her expense.

“For me on a personal front, to see how sad and how bitter for someone to come out like that, for a renowned pro to come out and stoop that low, is disgusting.”

He said tapes of the alleged incident were being scrutinised by his lawyers.

Mr Rudd was firmly in Grimshaw’s corner on Tuesday, congratulating her for giving Ramsay a “left uppercut” in her reply.

“I think I can describe his remarks as reflecting a new form of low life,” he told the Fairfax Radio Network.

“I just drew breath when I saw the sort of stuff which was said about her. I just think that’s off and offensive.”

Earlier, Ms Gillard said the celebrity chef should stay in the kitchen.

“I think perhaps what he should do is confine himself to the kitchen and make nice things for people to eat rather than make public comments about others,” she said.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said there was no need for “women to be abused in our community at any level”.

Grimshaw said she had been overwhelmed by the avalanche of support she’d received.

The fallout from Ramsay’s rant has gone global, spreading to his homeland Britain and to the US and New Zealand.

Britain’s The Mirror sent up Ramsay in a report headlined: “Good thing Gordon Ramsay is such a sex god.”

“Gordon is such a handsome devil, a veritable sex god come to Earth to live among men, you can understand why he might feel that mere mortals are unworthy of his presence,” the report said.

The Mail Online carried a report about the outburst and the angry reaction it had generated among audience members and women’s groups.

US celebrity watcher Perez Hilton said Ramsay had gone too far with his “sexist, homophobic remarks”.

Source www.ninemsn.com.au

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Gordon Ramsay targets Tracy Grimshaw in rant

FOUL-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay has shocked a public audience by vilifying high profile Australian journalist Tracy Grimshaw in an obscene, sexist rant.

The putrid tirade, which included references to Grimshaw’s looks, sexuality and depictions of her as a pig, shocked audiences who went to see the celebrity chef at the Good Food and Wine Show in Melbourne.

Ramsay told an audience of several thousand people that Grimshaw was “a lesbian”, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.

When the crowd reacted with gasps, he said: “What? I’m not saying she’s a …”

The phrase that Ramsay used was a highly derogatory term often used to describe lesbians.

Ramsay also showed a picture of a woman – who appeared to be naked – on her hands and knees with the features of a pig and multiple breasts. 

Tracy Grimshaw,” he told the audience. “I had an interview with her yesterday – holy crap.

“She needs to see Simon Cowell’s Botox doctor.”

Ramsay – who later dismissed the comments as a joke – went on with more innuendos about Grimshaw’s sexual preference and activities.

The crude remarks did not impress Channel Nine chief executive David Gyngell, who phoned Ramsay to tell him they were inappropriate and that he had gone too far.

Just a year ago, the celebrity chef had been lauded as the network’s saviour, with his programs Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares rating highly.

Mandy Saunders was at the food expo with her two children and elderly mother.                                         

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing – it was disgusting,” Ms Saunders said.

“The show is meant for families. That was way out of order.”

Anthony Kavroulas was also in the audience at Ramsay’s performance.

“What can I say? It was totally sexist,” Mr Kavroulas said.

Women’s groups also expressed their disgust, saying it was wrong that Ramsay was making money by comparing women with animals.

Melinda Tankard Reist, from Women’s Forum Australia, said Ramsay’s sponsors should dump him and he should leave Australia.

“Ramsay’s sexist and demeaning actions are offensive to every Australian woman,” Ms Reist said.
“Why should he get paid for depicting a woman as an animal and publicly deriding her looks?

“He shouldn’t be making money through the verbal abuse of women.

“Gordon Ramsay is no longer welcome here. The sponsors of his trip should immediately remove their support and send him packing.”

LG, a major sponsor of the Good Food and Wine Show, said it did not want to comment on the incident.

Ramsay appeared on Nine’s A Current Affair and was interviewed by Tracy Grimshaw on Friday night.

During the interview, he commented on Grimshaw’s facial mole, asking: “Is that a wart? It looks like your little sister’s on your lip.”

Grimshaw appeared to take that remark well.

But A Current Affair executive producer Grant Williams said yesterday the chef had gone too far and should stick to cooking and lay off the comedy.

“We know Gordon Ramsay sets out to shock, but if what we’re being told is true, we’re very surprised,” Williams said.

“Frankly, although it’s plainly a joke, it’s out of order.

“Gordon has proved here that he doesn’t need to be in the kitchen to create a nightmare.

“As a comedian, he makes a pretty good cook. Maybe he’d be better off at The Chaser.”

A spokeswoman for Ramsay said the stunt was just a joke and should have been taken as one.

“He really respects Tracy Grimshaw as a journalist. It was just a joke,” Sarah Armstrong said.

“She interviews him every time he comes to Australia. They have a great relationship.”

Source www.news.com.au

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