Robbie Williams not-so-subtly shot an audience member during his New Year’s Eve performance in Sydney.
The British megastar, 50, was the headline act at the city’s New Year’s celebrations on Tuesday, which were broadcast on ABC.
Robbie’s stellar performance was marred by an awkward exchange with an audience member.
After delighting crowds with his hit Let Me Entertain You and Wilson Pickett’s Land of 1000 Dances, Robbie and his 13-piece backing band released their 2002 track Me and My Monkey.
Robbie apparently invited the audience to sing along, but was evidently not very impressed with the rhythmic skill of one of the revelers.
The singer awkwardly fell silent before reprimanding the audience member for his lack of synchronization.
Robbie Williams not-so-subtly shot an audience member during his New Year’s Eve performance in Sydney on Tuesday night.
“You got me in the wrong place,” Robbie said.
‘Can you stop writing the lyrics to the song? So I’m not wrong.’
The camera then cut to a close-up of Robbie, who was sporting an expression that suggested he was more than a little annoyed with the audience member.
‘Now, okay?’ Robbie instructed sternly before continuing with the song.
Robbie’s eight-song set was filled with some of his biggest hits, including Feel, Better Man and Rock DJ.
He also wowed the crowd with a rousing performance of John Farnham’s classic You’re The Voice, before rounding out 2024 with his 2002 ballad Angels.
‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,’ Robbie sang during the song’s bridge, and the audience responded with the obligatory: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi.’
However, Robbie’s bravura divided ABC viewers after the pop superstar took the opportunity to promote his new documentary, Better Man, launching a cheeky advert mid-set.
Robbie’s stellar performance was marred by an awkward exchange with an audience member during the song Land of 1000 Dances.
Robbie apparently invited the audience to sing along, but was evidently not very impressed with the rhythmic skill of one of the revelers.
It was before Robbie’s performance of his 2000 hit Better Man that he gave a glowing review to his own film of the same name.
‘Some critics call it the movie of the century! “They’re not my words, except they are because I just made them up,” he told the crowd.
Robbie then asked if anyone had seen the film yet and explained that it had been filmed in Australia.
He even changed some of Better Man’s lyrics and sang, “So go see my movie, it’s full of drugs and sex, I got my own biopic, I’m not even dead.”
The move divided viewers, with many upset that ABC, a government-owned and taxpayer-funded television station, was spending a pretty penny on Williams’ performance.
‘Did they pay my taxes for this lazy Robbie Williams set? What the fuck. PR for a movie during a set too? wrote one person in X.
“Robbie Williams is busy posing and promoting himself, how about he sing a song?” another added along with a thumbs down emoji.
“Your tax money is hard at work with this Robbie Williams performance,” another posted.
“You got me in the wrong place,” Robbie said. ‘Can you stop writing the lyrics to the song? So I’m not wrong’
‘Robbie Williams on @ABCTV is a new low for this country. “Our tax dollars are going down the fucking drain watching this clown go broke,” said one more.
“And seeing the new year with Robbie Williams adorning his new movie in white pants and now covering John Farnham’s You’re The Voice, featuring it as the national anthem,” another agreed.
‘We’re only going to have 25-30 minutes of Robbie Williams. How much and who pays? someone else said.
Others praised the megastar’s stellar performance and didn’t mind the plug.
“Imagine being so drunk on New Year’s Eve that you’re offended that Robbie Williams is releasing his movie that was filmed and directed by Australians,” one wrote.
“Robbie Williams has saved the ABC,” said another, and someone else posted: “Robbie Williams saves our big event once again.”