“Insensitive idiots”: Channel 7 slammed for airing unauthorised Newton-John biopic
<p dir="ltr">Channel Seven has come under fire from fans for airing <em>Hopelessly Devoted To You</em>, an unauthorised Olivia Newton-John biopic the same day the iconic actress and singer passed away.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The 2018 miniseries, starring Delta Goodrem as a young Olivia, hit a sour note for fans grieving on Tuesday night, with many taking to social media to share their thoughts.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We should be honouring Olivia, not have this horrible wood duck imitation on,” one fan tweeted. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“Why am I watching Delta Goodrem play Olivia Newton-John on TV and not... I don't know, Olivia Newton-John? 😭” wrote another.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Australia doesn’t want to see Delta Goodrem as Olivia, you insensitive idiots,” one quipped, before adding, “We want to see original music featuring Olivia.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">“In the haste to put something on tonight Olivia Newton-John related, Channel 7 miss the mark with Olivia biopic starring Delta Goodrem,” a third <a href="https://twitter.com/Ancray/status/1556972888728928256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’d rather watch something ACTUALLY starring Olivia, not someone pretending to be her!”</p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-705a392e-7fff-3098-0a57-6e9b387c7c26"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">To make matters worse, some savvy users pointed out that one media outlet used a photo of Goodrem as Olivia in their post breaking the news of Newton-John’s death.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">not popcrave using a pic of delta goodrem 😭 <a href="https://t.co/FwfKCaFlPN">pic.twitter.com/FwfKCaFlPN</a></p>
<p>— David Mack (@davidmackau) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/1556726103246602240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">The post has since been deleted and the outlet reshared the news with two photos of Newton-John.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It comes after Goodrem paid tribute to Newton-John, describing her as a mentor, friend, and inspiration in a heartfelt Instagram post.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-9af153f3-7fff-67d2-a732-017e50e42ca3"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">“The whole world will feel this heartbreak today because the entire world felt Olivia’s unmatched light,” she wrote, sharing two black-and-white photos of the pair.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">“A force for good. A force for nature. Strong and kind, my mentor, my friend, my inspiration, someone who always guided me… she was always there for me. Family to me.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I don’t have all the words I would like to say today but I hope everyone will join in celebrating our beloved Olivia, her heart, soul, talent, courage, grace… I love you forever.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2c3e2f14-7fff-81eb-95f1-397e6597e870"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Lifetime</em></p>
