Iconic women’s magazine Cosmopolitan is facing serious backlash on social media after nominating divisive television host Sonia Kruger for one of its coveted Fun Fearless Female awards.
Kruger is in the running for the magazine’s Presenter of the Year title, despite attracting widespread criticism for her comments about Muslim immigration last month.
During an appearance on The Today Show on July 18, The Voice host said she was in favour of a complete ban on Muslim people entering Australia, as it would make her feel more “safe”.
Cosmo‘s nomination of Kruger has drawn the ire of people on Twitter who claim she’s undeserving of the accolade.
“Seriously, Cosmo?” wrote one user.
“Because bashing minorities on TV is ‘fun’,” wrote another.
“Oh dear. I hope that went to press like two months ago,” responded another.
After receiving immense criticism for her comments last month, Kruger subsequently addressed her critics on-air, admitting that her views “may have been extreme”.
“It is a hugely complex and sensitive issue. It’s an issue with no simple answer. And it’s an issue that cannot be fully discussed in a short televised segment,” she said.
“It’s a privilege to live in a country such as Australia which embraces a multi-cultural society, but there is no simple answer here, and if we are to find a solution to this situation, at the very least we need to be able to discuss it.”
Top Comments
You know what? I'm so sick of hearing the whole "but we've got to be able to discuss it" bullcrap.
What discussion? I still haven't seen any? (Banning Muslim immigration is not "discussion". It's a stupid idea. Completely impractical, not to mention highly discriminatory).
"We need discussion" and "I'm scared" nearly always seems to be justification for demonising a group of people we don't quite understand because they're "not like us"
Because as soon as someone says something like that they get shouted down and forced to apologise. So, no discussion.
Oh yes you have summarised my feelings on this! Also sick of hearing "we need to have an open debate", "we are shouted down". I don't debate with anti-vaxxers, I don't debate with the KKK and I am certainly not going to waste my breathe debating with Pauline Hanson, etc.
Because it's not discussion, it's a knee jerk reaction that is in no way enforceable unless we ban immigration altogether.
I'd love to hear some real suggestions. ISIS is a real problem, terrorism is a real problem, radicalisation of our youth is a real problem.
I have no idea what the solution is, but I imagine a good way to start is by consulting with Muslims, rather than telling them they're not welcome. How can we better screen immigrants and refugees? Could we put in place more intensive programs for new immigrants - not just Muslim but also other significantly different cultures - so that they have a better understanding of our culture and laws (run in conjunction with the mosques and other places of worship, perhaps) - this could also potentially help identify suspect persons? Working with the Muslim community to better identify kids at risk (pretty sure this already happens, but maybe it could be improved?). Etc etc. There are real questions to be asked, real discussions to be had. Fear and hate driven blanket statements help no-one, it only further divides us.
Cosmo just wanted some publicity for their stupid award.