Thomas Francis Gleeson is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter.
Gleeson previously co-hosted The Weekly with Charlie Pickering alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts Hard Quiz, both on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
What did Tom Gleeson do?
In 2019, Tom Gleeson won Gold Logie after a ruthless campaign mocked Australia’s television awards, the Logies.
Gleeson took a glass of red wine to the podium at the end of the long ceremony and admitted he had been “drinking heavily” throughout.
“I have ruined the Logies, and it’s never going to happen again,” he declared cheerfully to the room of industry figures gathered at the Star Casino on the Gold Coast. “Our industry is dying, and I’m part of that!”.
The Logies are usually denigrated as a cheesy celebration of celebrity culture, with several major awards reducing to popularity contests. For instance, to win the Gold Logie, nominees are required to campaign for public votes.
While campaigning, Gleeson unleashed a “ludicrous” one. Launched by The Weekly, he ran a series of faux attack ads on social media against his fellow nominees, including the TV personalities Waleed Aly, Amanda Keller, Costa Georgiadis and Rodger Corser. He also axed his own show, promising to bring it back if he won.
Gleeson went on to win the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Television.