celebrity

Why Bert Newton's unexpected Logies speech has completely divided viewers.

 

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When Australian TV legend Bert Newton appeared on stage at the Logie Awards, his speech gained a lot of attention.

The 79-year-old presented the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent to Dilruk Jayasinha – but it was Newton’s comments about the late entertainer Kennedy that stunned social media.

Speaking about his long career in entertainment, Newton made a reference to Kennedy and talk-show host Don Lane mentoring young talent ‘behind closed doors’ – a comment which had many Twitter users questioning whether Newton was possibly suggesting Kennedy was a sexual predator.

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Newton also raised eyebrows when referred to himself as an ‘old p**f’, which some people claimed was homophobic.

Although Newton received some negative attention for his interesting comments, it was clear that he’s still a well-loved figure.

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According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Newton responded to criticism shortly after presenting the Graham Kennedy award, saying his comments about Kennedy were “innocent”.

“It was totally innocent as far as I’m concerned… everything these days is jumped upon,” he reportedly said.

Newton has been a part of the Logie awards since they first started in 1959.

Throughout his television career, Newton received four Gold Logies and was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 1988.