There’s an annoying comment that often pops up beneath the many celebrity stories that pepper social media.
It looks a little something like this…
“Who?”
Sometimes, these eloquent keyboard warriors expand on this idea and branch out to other well-loved phrases such as “who is that”, “why is this news?” and “never heard of her.”
These comments are supposed to be clever and cutting, but why somebody thinks not knowing the identity of a person who is taking up real estate across multiple websites, newspapers and magazines is so impressive I’ll never really know.
I can only guess these are the same people who proudly declare they’ve never deigned to watch an episode of Game of Thrones, because if everyone else in the world is enjoying something, why the hell would you want to join in? Excellent call all 'round.
These are exactly the kinds of comments that could be found below every single story written about Roxy Jacenko following her controversial appearance on 60 Minutes this week.
So for every person who wrote “who?” beneath these stories, allow me to help you out.
No, really, it’s my pleasure. Game of Thrones is over for another year anyway, so I've got some time to kill…
Listen to Laura Brodnik and Rosie Waterland discuss why everyone is wrong about Roxy Jacenko on The Binge. (Post continues after audio.)
Roxy Jacenko founded the incredibly successful companies Sweaty Betty PR and The Ministry of Talent and was one of the more memorable contestants to appear on the reality show Celebrity Apprentice. She's also the author of three best-selling books and has an immense social media following.
Her husband is Oliver Curtis, who was convicted for insider trading this year in a high profile case that was covered extensively in the media, and not just because every person with a journalism degree was begging to create content around the sassy blonde with an eye for Instagram captions.
It was because public appetite for her plight appeared to be endless.
60 Minutes copped a bit of flack for devoting such a large portion of their show to Roxy, but since we’ve established that her level of fame and public interest don’t appear to be a problem, I can only come to the conclusion that the real grudge against the PR Queen is more about what she represents than who she actually is.
During her 60 Minutes appearance, Roxy came across as everything we’ve been taught to devalue and despise in a woman.
She’s career driven and intensely ambitious, talking unapologetically about working long hours, both in the office and in her home, instead of spending time with her children.
She admits to not being able to cook, until recently had never taken her children to the zoo, and brazenly talks about her plastic surgery procedures without batting an eyebrow.
She documents her life, and the lives of her young children, on social media, speaks her mind, and is not afraid to show off her wealth and love for material assets.
In short, she is the opposite of “the cool girl”, the laid-back, jokey, down to earth mother figure we all feel comfortable labeling as our girl crush.
When Zoe Foster Blake puts her child on Instagram, the world coos about how adorable and lovable she is. When Roxy Jacenko does it, it's labeled as exploitation.
For every person feigning ignorance about who Roxy is after her 60 Minutes interview, another was begging her to never again grace the small screen.
But you know what? We need women like Roxy on our TVs.
We need women whose business success and drive we can admire, women who speak their minds even when they know it’s going to make them unpopular.
Women who say they spend more time at the office than in the kitchen. Who exercise their right to utilise any kind of cosmetic procedures they want on their own bodies. Who go against the kind of female stereotype we’ve been taught to admire. (Post continues after gallery.)
The Jacenko-Curtis family.
Maybe it would be good for us to see women on our screens who we may not like, but to accept that they play a role in shaping the conversations we are having.
Also, in a world full of people putting their lives and faces on the internet for all to see, amassing a following and capturing the interest of the general public is not as easy as people think.
If Roxy Jacenko has managed to entice the nation into being enthralled with her, that’s because there is a lot there to see.
We need more Roxy Jacenko on our TV screens; one 60 Minutes special was just not enough.
Listen to the full episode of The Binge.
Top Comments
There are a million people out here who don't have the slightest clue who this woman is beyond her endless self promotion. And there are a million "strong" and successful women who don't exploit their little children to prop up their PR business. My bet is that she's not that strong either - I reckon she's running like mad to paper over the huge cracks in her life. I wouldn't be surprised to see her fall apart because she's created a monster that's impossible to sustain. This has disaster written all over it at some point
I watch Game of Thrones, and I didn't know who she was until the insider trading case. Hmm, so I think I feel the same annoyance and disinterest as the majority of the others commenting and probably society at large....so let's just all agree, we think she is a waste of (media) space? Yes? If this site reflects 'what women are talking about' we desperately need to talk about something else!!