Latest news with #GregLarsen
News.com.au
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Wave a flag and fall in line': Former ABC comedian Greg Larsen on why he doesn't celebrate Anzac Day
Australian comedian and former ABC figure Greg Larsen has attracted serious criticism after dishing out comments about Anzac Day. In a podcast episode of The Greg Larsen Show uploaded a day before Anzac Day, Larsen was his usual irreverent self when he began with a comment designed to rile up patriots around Australia. 'Here's my hot take: I reckon I could beat all the Anzacs in a fight. There, I said it. I reckon they're not so tough,' he said. Larsen, who previously featured on ABC programs such as Tonightly and Spelling Bee, clarified he was joking about fighting Anzacs. A picture of Larsen edited in front of a communist flag posted to his official Instagram handle tells you just about everything you need to know about what's coming next. He has acknowledged he is a 'big leftie' and has used inflammatory topics like patriotism in his work as a standup comedian. He even acknowledged what he was about to say was to 'up his listener count'. But he shifted to a more serious tone when explaining why he refuses to commemorate Anzac Day. 'I believe, and I believe this firmly, that Anzac Day was invented as a jingoistic, nationalistic myth to get you to wave a flag and fall in line,' he said. 'I believe that the very existence of Anzac Day as a commemoration is a slap in the face to everyone who died at Gallipoli. And laying a wreath while saluting the flag is the same as pissing on the graves of the poor souls who died for no good reason.' Larsen also argued that the concept of a 'nation' is still a relatively new concept. 'We invented countries around 300 years ago. Australia's myth is the Anzacs — that's our myth, that's where we believe the country was founded, and it wasn't. 'We believe that Australia grew up that day and that we became a nation on that day, and I believe that is all total f**king horsesh*t.' Larsen further stated that the Anzacs form a certain 'myth' that plays a giant role in Australia's national identity. 'Anzac Day should not be a day where we fly a flag, Anzac Day should be a day where we burn a flag,' he said. His comments were labelled 'disgusting' by Sky News, while a Vietnam War veteran told the Daily Mail he was disappointed. 'Denigrate war, but don't denigrate the soldier,' Michael von Berg MC OAM said. 'We're under attack from all quarters from people who simply don't love our country, our flag, and our traditions, and it's very sad.' A spokesperson for the ABC told Sky News that Larsen 'isn't an ABC employee' and that his podcast 'isn't ABC content'. The narrative around Anzac Day remains a hot topic. A dawn service in Melbourne on Anzac Day saw neo-Nazis in the crowd boo during the Welcome to Country. The debate made its way to the campaign trail this week, where Opposition Leader Peter Dutton admitted he would rather not see the official acknowledgement at Anzac Day events, but would leave the decision to cull them up to each event organiser. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has described the tradition as 'divisive'. 'There is no problem with acknowledging our history, but rolling out these performances before every sporting event or public gathering is definitely divisive,' she said. 'It's not welcoming, it's telling non-Indigenous Australians 'this isn't your country' and that's wrong. We are all Australians and we share this great land.' She said 'around the country' there were some people whose 'only role, their only source of income, is delivering Welcome to Country'. 'Everyone's getting sick of Welcome to Country,'' she said.
Sky News AU
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
ABC star Greg Larsen's disgraceful comments as he calls ANZAC Day 'a jingoistic, nationalistic myth to get you to wave a flag and fall in line'
Australian comedian and former ABC star Greg Larsen has launched into a shocking tirade against Anzac Day, declaring he refuses to commemorate the national day as he believes it is a "myth". In the hour-long episode of his podcast The Greg Larsen Show, titled 'ANZAC DAY SPECIAL', Larsen said he wanted to 'stoke some controversy' and 'up his listener count'. "Here's my hot take: I reckon I could beat all the Anzacs in a fight," he began. "There, I said it. I reckon they're not so tough." The self-described "leftie" quickly reversed his position, claiming he was joking about fighting the Anzacs. 'I don't hate the Anzacs, you know what, controversial for me to say… I like the Anzacs, I love the Anzacs," he said. However, he went on to explain why he refuses to commemorate the national day of remembrance, which honours the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landing at Gallipoli during World War I- a campaign in which approximately 8,709 Australians and 2,779 New Zealanders died. "I believe, and I believe this firmly, that Anzac Day was invented as a jingoistic, nationalistic myth to get you to wave a flag and fall in line," Larsen said. "And I believe that the very existence of Anzac Day as a commemoration is a slap in the face to everyone who died at Gallipoli. "And laying a wreath while saluting the flag is the same as p***ing on the graves of the poor souls who died like dogs in the dirt for no good reason." Larsen argued that the concept of a nation-state was "actually pretty new… we invented countries around 300 years ago". He then launched into a nearly 30-minute tirade about nationalism and what he claimed was the true history of World War I, suggesting the Anzacs were "just killing people they'd never met because they were lied to." "All of them were tricked, all of them were lied to, all of them were led to their deaths by the dog c***s that run this dog c*** nation," he said. Larsen further claimed that the Anzacs form the "myth" underpinning Australia's national identity. "Anzac Day is our myth," he said. "Anzac Day should not be a day where we fly a flag, Anzac Day should be a day where we burn a flag." Larsen, once regarded as one of the ABC's most celebrated comedians, has also appeared on Channel Seven and starred in the BBC One drama The Tourist. During his time at the ABC, he featured as a comedian on Tonightly, appeared on Spelling Bee, and regularly served as a commentator across ABC radio and TV. has contacted the ABC and RSL Australia for further comment.
The Guardian
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Greg Larsen: Geggy review – a very funny standup on why he's quitting comedy
Greg Larsen is broke. Having his card declined at a McDonald's drive thru just weeks before this year's Melbourne international comedy festival was a watershed moment for him. He is 41. He's been performing comedy for more than a decade. This, he says, is his last festival show. He's done. Geggy is his swan song, a chaotic journey through his career's highs and lows and the decisions that led him to that drive thru. For those who have followed Larsen's career, this show is a treat, offering a hilarious insight into the chaos behind the scenes of the various projects he's been involved in. It includes a cast of others who rose through the circuit with him, many of whom are doing pretty well for themselves, including Larsen's early collaborator Sam Campbell. The show is a window into the reality of working as a comedian, from open mic gigs in pokie-filled pubs to glitzy award nights and the various day jobs that happen in between. It isn't a glamorous story – Centrelink payments are a recurring thread as Larsen struggles to make ends meet. The theme of the show, if there is one, is money. And the question of why Larsen doesn't have any. Larsen has been nominated for and won multiple awards in his career, including multiple prizes at the MICF. In fact, Geggy has been nominated for the festival's coveted honour for best show. And, while he is clearly pleased to be nominated, there is little sense that it will change anything. Larsen has had various successes – prestigious awards, a starring role in an international TV show, high-paying corporate gigs – but after every high comes the fall, and Larsen ends up broke again. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Geggy is an insight into how critically underfunded the arts industry is in Australia. Larsen talks about his various TV gigs with bitterness – not because they weren't rewarding but because of how infrequently the pay cheques matched the hours worked. It's something anyone who's worked in the arts or entertainment industries in Australia will be familiar with, cobbling together jobs to try to equal one rent payment. While he takes aim at landlords and corporate executives for their role in this cycle of hardship, he does not let himself off scot free. He admits his brain is 'full of piss' and attributes a portion of his financial situation to his own poor decision-making. It's an important reminder that, for the majority of comics, staging a festival show is a loss-making venture. Larsen is not the first to paint MICF as a slightly masochistic pursuit. But underneath this is a passion for making people laugh and glimpses into the chaotic, joyful moments that come from doing that with a community of others. Despite beginning the show saying he doesn't have time to build a rapport, there's something about Larsen's sweary, staggering demeanour that quickly gets the audience on side. The show is an almost relentless barrage of jokes, with little pause for breath. This pace doesn't even slow for the darker portions of the story, including multiple periods of suicidal thoughts, but Larsen narrates his life with a baffled derision that is both self-deprecating and nostalgic. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Larsen is an assured performer. This is not the show he intended to stage at the festival; after the episode at McDonald's he rewrote his entire show. This could easily have resulted in something messy and self-indulgent but instead it feels honest. And even though he insists Geggy is his last show, it feels as though Larsen still has things to say. From biting thoughts on socialism to ruthless take-downs of his early work, he is at his best when he allows the cracks to show and embraces the rough edges. If this is his final show, he's going out with a bang. And if it isn't, let's hope he at least makes some money off the next one. Greg Larsen is performing Geggy at Sydney comedy festival on 25 April
