Furious Australians have called on AFL fans to ‘boo’ Tina Arena when she takes to the stage for the long-awaited Grand Final.
The singer, 56, will join headliner Katy Perry on stage at the MCG in front of 100,000 AFL fans for the clash between Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans on Saturday.
However, their surprise collaboration has left many fans unimpressed as they have criticized AFL bosses’ decision to include Tina in entertainment programming.
Her divisive comments about Daniel Andrews’ prolonged Covid lockdowns in Victoria resurfaced after the announcement, with many arguing she should be “booed” on stage.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: ‘Everyone must boo #TinaArena at the Grand Final tomorrow!’
Another said: ‘DEAF! Why would the AFL choose a 90s French wannabe for entertainment? Didn’t they learn anything from Meatloaf?
A third wrote: ‘Katy Perry is performing with Tina Arena tomorrow. “It will be interesting to see how many boos he gets from the 100,000 people in the stadium.”
“I’m reserving my thoughts on Tina Arena’s performance with Katy Perry at the AFL GF for now,” tweeted a fourth.
Furious Australians have called on AFL fans to ‘boo’ Tina Arena when she takes to the stage for the long-awaited Grand Final.
The singer, 56, will join Katy Perry as a headliner at the MCG in front of 100,000 AFL fans for the showdown between Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans on Saturday.
While another added: “Please tell me Victorians are going to boo Tina Arena.”
However, other fans shared their delight that Tina took to the stage alongside the Roar hitmaker, 39, and praised the collaboration.
One wrote: ‘I love Tina Arena! She is an absolute legend,” and another shared, “Lmao society is screwed if they boo Tina Arena.”
A third said: “Tina Arena is a wonderful choice,” while a fourth commented: “I had forgotten how good Tina Arena is.”
A fifth wrote: “Melbourne at its finest with the jewel in our crown, amazing Tina,” and another added: “Tina, you are a true Melbourne icon.”
Tina sparked controversy with her disapproval of Victorian Covid-19 lockdowns and incited anger when she revealed she broke the rules to resist what she called a “totalitarian” system.
While he did not publicly support any conspiracy theories, he deliberately violated the rule advising citizens not to travel more than 5 kilometers from home unless necessary.
‘Why can’t you drive more than five kilometers? Guess what, look at me. So I did it. “I drove beyond my five kilometres,” he told The Weekend Australian last year.
But many fans were left unimpressed after Tina’s divisive comments about Victoria’s Covid lockdowns resurfaced following the announcement.
Many Australians took to social media to argue that Tina should be “booed” when she appears on stage while criticizing her participation in the AFL Grand Final.
‘Am I a criminal now? Do you want to get me up? Lift me up. Do you want to fine me? Fine with me. I’m not the one who has the problem here.
‘The point is that there is no logic. You have no right to do that. You’re fining me. This is totalitarian. We don’t work like that.’
Tina went on to claim that she had not heard anyone else complain about the strict lockdowns as she doubled down on her criticism of the rules.
‘I didn’t hear anyone complain during lockdown apart from me: ‘Why are we locked down?’ Where is your science? That? Why?’ he continued.
‘The fear was so much for me; I was suffocating, I thought, I can’t stand all of you being so fear-driven and docile.’
It was not the first time Tina spoke out in defiance of Covid lockdowns and she was widely criticized on social media for being “selfish” due to her comments.
In August last year, Tina broke her silence about the backlash and confessed that she had faced “difficulties” due to her vocal stance.
She said: ‘Mine was difficult too for a number of different reasons. Not only was what I felt was an extraordinary imposition, but it is a position that I have taken and that many people really disagree with.’
Speaking about Jonesy and Amanda, she told listeners that she was not prepared to “suppress” her own opinions and that people are free to think what they want.
Tina is expected to take the stage alongside Katy Perry for pre-game entertainment, as the pair were seen rehearsing together on Thursday.
This week, Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed that Tina had been signed up as a special guest for the AFL Grand Final.
Organizers hope she will create another memorable TV moment after Delta Goodrem performed with Robbie Williams in an iconic performance at last year’s final.
She is expected to take the stage alongside Katy Perry for pre-game entertainment, as the pair were seen rehearsing together on Thursday.
Tina, best known for her hits Burn and Chains, signed up after plans for Kylie Minogue to perform reportedly fell through.