Sonia Kruger took the ultimate victory on Sunday night when she was awarded the Golden Logie, but not all viewers thought it was well deserved.
Channel Seven’s ‘golden girl’, 57, took home the title of most popular personality at TV’s night-of-nights in Sydney.
Viewers at home flocked to Twitter to reject the decision, citing Sonia’s comments about Muslim immigration on the Today show in 2016.
At the time, Sonia called on Australia to stop Muslim immigration because she wants to “feel safe.”
During a fiery panel discussion on the Today show, the TV presenter argued that there is a link between the number of Muslims in a country and the number of terrorist attacks.
Sonia Kruger took the ultimate victory on Sunday night when she received the Golden Logie, but not all viewers thought it was well deserved
“Personally, I would like it to stop now for Australia because I want to feel safe, as all our citizens do when we start celebrating Australia Day,” she said.
The television host said she had “a lot of really good friends” who were Muslims and peace-loving, beautiful people. “But there are fanatics.”
Sonia’s comments sparked fierce debate on social media, with several viewers labeling them as divisive.
In response, the TV star said ‘it was vital to discuss these issues without being automatically labeled as racist’.
Many have not forgotten the furore when she took home the Golden Logie on Sunday night.
“What a really dark day it is for television in Australia. Hopefully Sonia Kruger doesn’t break out the racial gear,” one person tweeted after her win.
“How she continues to get work on Australian TV is the most disappointing thing about the industry,” added another.
One viewer added: “In 2016, Sonia Kruger stated she wanted to ban Muslim immigration because she was afraid. In 2023 she will be nominated for a Golden Logie. Thank you, Australian mainstream commercial TV.’
A fourth tweeted: “Shaun Micallef was robbed of the Gold Logie, not least from Sonia Kruger who has little coverage on Australian TV and has spoken out against Muslims.”
However, there were others who defended Sonia’s comments.
One person said that while she disagreed with her comments, they would “defend her right to say them.”
Sonia never apologized for the comments, but said she felt she should be able to speak her mind without being labeled a racist.
Viewers at home flocked to Twitter to quash the decision, citing Sonia’s comments about Muslim immigration on the Today show in 2016
A racial slur complaint against the Big Brother presenter was filed with the Civil and Administrative Tribunal following a statement she made on Today in 2016.
At the time, she told a panel including David Campbell and Lisa Wilkinson that Japan has a population of 174 million people and 100,000 Muslims and that the country never falls victim to terrorist attacks.
Her remarks provoked an impassioned response from the morning show’s co-host Campbell, who interrupted her when she started talking about journalists being ‘threatened’ and freedom of expression.
With waving hands, Campbell replied, “I’d like to see freedom of religion too!” As well as freedom of speech! They both go hand in hand!’
We’re talking about immigration, David,’ Sonia replied. She then asked if people could talk about the matter.
David said the article they were talking about – written by conservative columnist Andrew Bolt in News Corp papers – “grows hatred.”
“So you can’t talk about it?” Sonya replied. “You can’t talk about it?”
“I bet if you talked to the parents of those kids who were murdered in Nice, they’d have the same opinion.”
She argued that “good Muslim people” died as a result of terrorist attacks, pointing out that the first person to die in the Nice terror attacks last week was a Muslim woman.
When host Wilkinson asked her directly if she wanted to close the borders completely to Muslim migrants, Sonia said, “Yes, yes I would.”
Wilkinson pointed out that closing borders to Muslims was “Donald Trump’s approach.” “Well, maybe,” Sonia said. “I think it’s important for the safety of our citizens here.”
At the time, Sonia protested passionately to Today presenter David Campbell and called on Australia to stop Muslim immigration because she wants to ‘feel safe’
At the time, the former US president had called for a “complete halt” to Muslims entering the United States “until the representatives of our country can find out what’s going on.”
Sonia’s comments sparked fierce debate on social media, with viewers writing criticism, praise and ridicule.
And she responded to the criticism in a belligerent statement, writing at the time: “Following the atrocities last week in Nice, which left 10 children dead, as a mother I believe it is vital in a democratic society to be able to discuss these issues . without being automatically labeled racist’.
One said it was “refreshing to hear someone give their honest opinion #concerned #not racist.”
Another said: ‘Whether you agree with Sonia Kruger or not on border control, realize she is only looking out for Australian security and that took guts!’
Other viewers were simply surprised by the debate.
“Never thought I’d see Sonia Kruger and Donald Trump in the same sentence!” joked one.
Many have not forgotten the furore when she took home the Golden Logie on Sunday night
In 2019, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled that Sonia’s comments were likely to have encouraged “hatred towards or grave contempt for Australian Muslims by ordinary members of the Australian population.”
However, the Voice host was later found not guilty of racial slurs and the complaint was dismissed because Australia’s Muslim community did not have a ‘common ethno-religious origin’.
Sonia faced stiff competition for the Gold Logie with Julia Morris, Hamish Blake, Leigh Sales, Mark Coles Smith, Osher Gunsberg and Shaun Micallef all in the running.
Accepting the award, the veteran TV presenter, who hosts hit shows such as Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice Australia, was clearly overwhelmed.
Sonia is a media personality who first rose to fame for the role of Tina Sparkle in the 1992 Australian film Strictly Ballroom.
She has worked as a dance teacher, a Seven Network entertainment reporter and a long time presenter of Dancing With The Stars.
In 2007, Seven issued an “unconditional apology” after Sonia made derogatory comments about a “sweatshop full of immigrants” working on her Melbourne Cup dress.