Margot Robbie’s Vanity Fair interview resurfaces where US writer claims Australia is ’50 years behind the US’
Margot Robbie’s Vanity Fair interview resurfaces where US writer claims Australia is ’50 years behind the US’
- Old interview with Margot Robbie resurfaces
- Aussies in hysterics over country portrayal
An old Vanity Fair profile of Margot Robbie has surfaced online with the “unhinged” claim that Australia is a country full of “throwback people”, 50 years behind the US.
The 2016 interview with the Barbie star, 33, is written by American author Rich Cohen, in which he claims all Australians still ‘live and die with the plot twists of soap operas in Melbourne and Perth’.
Australian writer and critic Alexander Wells shared the opening passage of the article on Saturday, causing a stir among nearly a million commenters.
“Now that Margot Robbie is all over the news again, I can’t stop thinking about the 2016 Vanity Fair profile of her that my country will never forget,” he said.
The 2016 interview with the Barbie star, 33, written by American author Rich Cohen, claimed that all Australians still ‘live and die with the plot twists of soap operas in Melbourne and Perth’ (pictured)
Robbie (pictured at a recent Barbie event) later commented on the piece, calling it “really weird”
To understand Robbie, you have to understand Australia, argues Mr Cohen.
“Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a legacy, that’s why you go there for people with a legacy,” he writes.
The play was met with howls of derision, with some labeling it “insane” and “unhinged.”
The author also drew derision when he referred to Robbie’s “isolated” home on the Gold Coast – a bustling metropolitan region that attracts millions of tourists every year.
Others criticized the article’s condescending tone and alleged sexism.
“I can’t believe this article was written in this century, the levels of sexism are medieval,” one wrote.
It received a similar response when it was first published in 2016.
The criticism then reached such a fever pitch that the Wolf of Wall Street star was forced to comment on it himself.
said Robbie Network Ten’s The Project that she thought the interview was “really weird” but was proud to see her compatriots defend Australia’s reputation.
“I remember thinking that was a really strange interview, I don’t know what that’s going to look like,” Robbie said.
“And when I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, the tone of this is really weird.’ Like, I don’t really know what he’s trying to achieve,” she added.
Robbie said she was surprised by the response as she had read “a lot more offensive, a lot more sexist, abusive, derogatory, disgusting stuff every day.”
The Oscar nominee decided not to comment publicly on the article or the controversy, but claimed she was happy to see fans criticizing her portrayal.
“I didn’t say anything and I had a little bit of Aussie pride where I was like, ‘Don’t mess with the Aussies! Look what happens when you mess with Australia!’
Mr Cohen said of Australians: ‘They still live and die with the plot twists of soap operas.’ (Pictured: A scene from the Australian soap opera Home and Away)
The American journalist described Australian culture as ‘sunny and slow’ – and was fifty years behind American culture. (Pictured: Beachgoers on Sydney’s Bondi Beach)
However, there were some recent commentators who seemed to agree with the author’s out-of-touch assessment of Australia.
“Many angry Australians in the comments section, but this author is right,” one wrote.
“He’s not talking about aesthetics, he’s talking about spiritual, and in terms of feel, it’s 50 years behind America. Australia is a right-wing hell.’
Barbie has now made over $1 billion at the global box office