Seven Days - a Long Time...

Alan with John Serafino

It was British Prime Minister Harold Wilson who said : "a week is a long time in politics" but it could apply to many things.
Just last week the Shuttle was having celebratory drinks with a handful of guests including arguably Australia's most successful broadcaster Alan Jones at John Serafino's new city boutique.
Two days later his world crashed as a News Ltd reporter revealed Jones' distasteful remarks at a Young Liberals dinner, about the late father of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.  Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull immediatey condemned Jones via Twitter (completely unconnected with the notion he is after Liberal leader and Jones' supporter Tony Abbott's job).

Peter FitzSimon

And the trickle became a torrent with on-line petitions via Facebook demanding Jones' lucrative sponsors and Radio 2GB advertisers withdraw from his show. And they left in droves- Harvey Norman, Woolworths, Telstra, Coles, McDonalds, 7-Eleven and more.

Mike Carlton

Macquarie Radio (owners of 2GB) chairman Russell Tate condemned the call on advertisers as cyber-bullying after the network finally announced that advertisers would be suspended from Jones' broadcasts completely, a loss of around $24M a year.
 Sun Herald writer Peter FitzSimon demolished that argument in his column yesterday.
 On Saturday Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mike Carlton who was a broadcaster on Radio 2UE when Jones was there (referring to him as The Parrot)  penned a scathing piece titled  Prissy shrieks of fear and loathing casting aspersions on Jones' claim to be an Oxford graduate and with these wounding words :" This is a man who thinks Jeffrey Archer is a great English novelist, whose taste in music screeches to a halt at Andre Rieu."  Jones is a great pal of Archer.

 Media and advertising experts have claimed Jones advertisers will be back eventually. But will they? 
Mercedes Benz have issued the most damning press release saying they have not only abandoned advertising at 2GB permanently but have demanded Jones hand back his grace and favour $250,000 Merc and if not, they will re-possess it.
Still there are plenty more luxury motors in the basement of Jones' luxury apartment in the famous Toaster building. Waiting outside John Serafino's was the latest gleaming Jaguar XJ with a chauffeur perusing the Daily Telegraph while he waited for the master. Unless of course, it's a loaner as well.

Why British tabloids should listen to us

Fast on the heels of our tale (below at the end of "Cate Blanchett Snubbed") a UK tabloid the Daily Star has published a tale about our pal Russell Crowe titled :

CROWE'S CONCERT CANCELLED

Music-loving RUSSELL CROWE abandoned plans to sing at a children's charity show on Monday (09Aug10) - and spent the evening reading stories to his sons instead.

The Gladiator actor had volunteered to perform a song at a show for the Australian Children's Music Foundation at the State Theatre in Sydney on Monday evening.

But after travelling to the venue, Crowe's slot was cancelled - and he took advantage of his night off by spending quality time with his kids.

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Errr..not quite folks. The event to which the Shuttle was invited was  the Dueting For Kids concert to raise funds for the Australian Children's Music Foundation which was founded by children's TV host Don Spencer OAM who is the father of Danielle Spencer who is married to Crowe.

Although Russell is an Ambassador for the foundation along with a host of music identities like Dame Joan Sutherland,  Andrew Farriss from INXS, The Wiggles honorary Oz resident Leo Sayer,  Rolf Harris and Andre Rieu, Russell Crowe had never intended to either attend the function or perform at it.

Naturally Crowe and his wife Danielle are great supporters of Don who is a tireless charity worker and  the pair nearly always turn up at events to aid his works but Crowe is always mindful that being one the world's current top box office movie stars, he is bound to be the center of attention.

If the Daily Star had read the Shuttle as at least 4 other British tabloids do on a regular basis  (reproducing stories from here,) they would get these things right.

Russell & Danielle at a Don Spencer event in 2008

 Fortunately one daily London newspaper has now come to an arrangement with the Social Shuttle to have first access to our exclusives. That's one to us and nil to the Daily Star

As we noted yesterday Crowe would not be at the event (with organisers confirming to us today that he was never going to be). He twittered that  night that he felt he was coming down with the flu.

Which didn't stop him taking his usual morning walk with his kids today around Wooloomoolloo and through the Botanic Gardens where he gave the Shuttle a cheery wave. Crowe has told us in the past that one of the reasons he loves being back home in Sydney is because of the relative freedom he has to wander about unbothered by paparazzi.

2 Years ago he devised a scheme perfect in it's simple brilliance to maintain that privacy. Every time he leaves his home now for  his daily constitutional he wears exactly the same clothes, thereby devaluing possible sales of snaps of him out in public.