Peter FitzSimons and Lisa Wilkinson cancel Australia Day party after ‘year from hell’

Lisa Wilkinson and Peter FitzSimons have canned their traditional Australia Day party after enduring the “worst year of their lives” in 2022.

The high-profile couple’s annual cookout at their harborside mansion was one of the most anticipated events of the year for Sydney’s A-listers, featuring guests ranging from prime ministers and TV stars to chefs, comedians and journalists.

Outspoken Republicans renamed the famous January 26 holiday an ‘Independence Day’ holiday in 2020, but it was shelved in 2021 due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The star-studded event returned last year, but was pushed back a month to February 26, with previous guests being removed from the guest list.

It’s been revealed that the couple won’t be throwing a party this year after a year from hell with friends speculating if it’s been canceled for good.

The couple were never far from the headlines in 2022 with FitzSimons under fire for his controversial interview with Indigenous Senator Jacinta Price and Wilkinson in hot water for his Logies speech about his interview with Brittany Higgins.

Following widespread backlash, Wilkinson eventually stepped down as host of The Project.

An anonymous friend said the couple felt “bruised” after a tumultuous 2022.

“They feel like they’ve had the worst year of their lives: Fitzy with the controversy over her interview with Jacinta Price, and Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media during the whole Brittany Higgins thing,” the friend said. the aussie.

‘So, as a result, they’re not going to have a party.’

Then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese and his girlfriend Jodie Haydon were guests of honor at last year’s bash along with Magda Szubanski, stars of Channel 10’s The Project and ABC journalists.

One notable omission was that of ABC’s Q&A host Stan Grant, 12 months after he mercilessly mocked the annual bash as “an awakened lefty sweetheart” filled with “journalists, actors, writers, a couple of ex-Wallabies , some washes”. even politicians… and former general director of ABC’.

“Everyone there voted yes on same-sex marriage; the year before, everyone had tearfully applauded their first married gay guests; they hated the Catholic Church and wept when Kevin Rudd asked for forgiveness,” Grant wrote in 2021. .

“There were dot paintings on the wall, a photo with her arms around Cathy Freeman in Sydney’s Olympic Stadium and a framed copy of Paul Keating’s Redfern Declaration signed by Australia’s last great prime minister.”

2022 got off to a shaky start with Wilkinson’s Memoir It Wasn’t Meant To Be That Way with a spectacular discount at major retailers as low as $5.

He began a national tour to promote his book and address criticism of his memoir, including allegations that he omitted key details about his pay dispute with former employer Channel Nine.

In June, Wilkinson won a Logie Award for his powerful television interview with former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleged she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019.

She praised Ms. Higgins in her acceptance speech which led directly to the delay of the trial of Ms. Higgins’ accused rapist.

The fallout led past and present colleagues and rivals from various networks to criticize Wilkinson.

In August, FitzSimons interviewed Aboriginal Senator Jacinta Price for the Sydney Morning Herald, where the two clashed over Indigenous Voice before Parliament.

The senator claimed that he was “aggressive” and “rude” with her during the interview.

Weeks later, FitzSimons wasted no time in calling for a republic following the Queen’s death and the Australian Republic Movement released a statement just 17 minutes after her passing was announced.

He resigned as head of the ARM after seven years in command.

“The passing of Queen Elizabeth II confirms that decision as the entire campaign moves into a new phase,” he said at the time.

“A new generation is now stepping up to lead the campaign, many of whom were too young to vote when the last referendum was held, some of whom were not yet born.”

Wilkinson abruptly left The Project in November after four years on the panel, citing “targeted toxicity” from sections of the media as the reason for his departure.

He hasn’t returned to screens but is still drawing a ‘seven figure salary’ from Ten thanks to the ‘airtight’ deal he signed in 2021.

FitzSimons continues to be outspoken about the Republican movement, and last week praised the Reserve Bank’s decision not to replace the late monarch with King Charles III on the new $5 note.

He welcomed Thursday’s decision as a big step forward.

“Next: where in Australia is the official portrait of ‘King Charles’ hanging and when can it be removed?” he tweeted.