Radio shock jock laments that an independent film has been withdrawn for nothing worse than its maker going on a podcast – but did he listen to it? Plus: festive cheer at a premium for ABC in Canberra
“What does it take to get cancelled these days?”
The 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham had that urgent question for his listeners this week as he reported that screenings and a promotional tour for a documentary made by an independent film-maker, Kane Guglielmi, had been shelved by its distributor.
The film, Common Wealth, is billed as the story of how “a conservatively raised capitalist sets out on a global journey to explore plausible alternatives to the established economic and political models”.
Guglielmi claimed he was cancelled for “sitting next to an army veteran” – the 2 Worlds Collide podcast host Sam Bamford – and Fordham reiterated that he was “cancelled just for being on a podcast”.
Ben Fordham Live listeners heard a clip in which Gugliemi said: “Their only stated objection was to the podcast host whose views they considered racist.”
“So much for free speech,” Fordham said. “And veterans like Sam Bamford put their lives on the line to protect those freedoms. But if you talk to him, you get cancelled.”
