Latest news with #WaleedAly
Courier-Mail
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
Waleed Aly reveals pressure as Muslim host of The Project
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Project host Waleed Aly has spoken publicly for the first time about the intense pressures and challenges he encountered as the first Muslim man to front a major Australian television program. Speaking to a roundtable of former co-hosts on Hit Network's Carrie and Tommy, Aly opened up about the backlash he received as the first Muslim man to hold a prime-time hosting role in commercial TV — revealing he received death threats and required 24-hour security while hosting the show. 'I've never spoken about this publicly but (it was tough) having to deal with death threats and security out the front of my house – sometimes for 24 hours – having to explain to the kids why suddenly there's this guy driving us around as we go the zoo and not telling them why,' he said. Former co-hosts Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little, Waleed Aly, Pete Helliar and Dave Hughes reflected on their time on the show. Picture: Supplied 'That was very real. That was heavy stuff. So, I never thought about it that way (being the first Muslim on The Project) but I was forced to think about it … it was forced upon me.' The 16-year-old show came to an end after a period of declining ratings and to make room for a new current affairs and insight program 10 News+. Aly has been a co-host since the first episode aired and paid tribute to the 'audacious TV experiment' started by some 'outstandingly creative people'. 'I had been on the show every week (filing in, prior to being cast as a regular). I hadn't thought about it, it was just an extension of what I was doing. You go into commercial TV, and you realise everything becomes about personalities. 'I remember the moment when I was nominated for the Gold Logie, and it was me and Lee Lin Chin and there was a front-page story absolutely going (at) us, and only us … like, 'Why are these guys nominated?' 'I remember moments like that where I was like, 'Whoa, okay, this is a real thing. This is becoming real and it's all foisted upon you.' X SUBSCRIBER ONLY The Project launched in 2009, and Friday's finale was the 4504th episode. It was first confirmed last week that the current affairs and entertainment panel program was wrapping up at the end of June, with stars including Harris and Aly leaving not only their roles on the show but also with Network 10. According to insiders as many as 100 jobs overall will be impacted by Ten's decision to drop the show, which was broadcast six nights a week and has production offices in both Melbourne and Sydney. Alongside Aly, Bickmore co-hosted from 2009 until 2022 yet confessed she 'never felt enough' on the show. 'You talked about feeling like an impostor before. I never have felt enough; I never felt enough on that show,' she said. 'It's a strange thing to say when it was a huge part of my life, and I loved it! I loved it. I don't know if it was me, my own insecurities, or people's projections. The final episode of The Project aired on Friday. Picture: Supplied. 'I'll never forget the moment the words were said to me 'why can't you be more like Waleed?' 'I knew what they meant. You were extraordinary (Waleed) and you arrived on the show and changed the game for commentary everywhere. You were extraordinary. But that wasn't my strength, nor should it have been, nor did I want that, nor did the show need that. 'But the problem was that when something good happens, it's hard to not want everybody to do that good thing, so we can get more of that goodness, and make it even better because we've struck gold! It was like … 'No, Waleed is Waleed!' I should never have been you, we needed to be ourselves, and so often I felt like I needed to be someone else. Something clicked in my head and I realised, I just need to be me.' Originally published as 'Death threats, 24 hour security': Waleed Aly reveals dark Project toll as first Muslim TV host
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Death threats, 24 hour security': Waleed Aly reveals dark Project toll as first Muslim TV host
The Project host Waleed Aly has spoken publicly for the first time about the intense pressures and challenges he encountered as the first Muslim man to front a major Australian television program. Speaking to a roundtable of former co-hosts on Hit Network's Carrie and Tommy, Aly opened up about the backlash he received as the first Muslim man to hold a prime-time hosting role in commercial TV — revealing he received death threats and required 24-hour security while hosting the show. 'I've never spoken about this publicly but (it was tough) having to deal with death threats and security out the front of my house – sometimes for 24 hours – having to explain to the kids why suddenly there's this guy driving us around as we go the zoo and not telling them why,' he said. 'That was very real. That was heavy stuff. So, I never thought about it that way (being the first Muslim on The Project) but I was forced to think about it … it was forced upon me.' The 16-year-old show came to an end after a period of declining ratings and to make room for a new current affairs and insight program 10 News+. Aly has been a co-host since the first episode aired and paid tribute to the 'audacious TV experiment' started by some 'outstandingly creative people'. 'I had been on the show every week (filing in, prior to being cast as a regular). I hadn't thought about it, it was just an extension of what I was doing. You go into commercial TV, and you realise everything becomes about personalities. 'I remember the moment when I was nominated for the Gold Logie, and it was me and Lee Lin Chin and there was a front-page story absolutely going (at) us, and only us … like, 'Why are these guys nominated?' 'I remember moments like that where I was like, 'Whoa, okay, this is a real thing. This is becoming real and it's all foisted upon you.' The Project launched in 2009, and Friday's finale was the 4504th episode. It was first confirmed last week that the current affairs and entertainment panel program was wrapping up at the end of June, with stars including Harris and Aly leaving not only their roles on the show but also with Network 10. According to insiders as many as 100 jobs overall will be impacted by Ten's decision to drop the show, which was broadcast six nights a week and has production offices in both Melbourne and Sydney. Alongside Aly, Bickmore co-hosted from 2009 until 2022 yet confessed she 'never felt enough' on the show. 'You talked about feeling like an impostor before. I never have felt enough; I never felt enough on that show,' she said. 'It's a strange thing to say when it was a huge part of my life, and I loved it! I loved it. I don't know if it was me, my own insecurities, or people's projections. 'I'll never forget the moment the words were said to me 'why can't you be more like Waleed?' 'I knew what they meant. You were extraordinary (Waleed) and you arrived on the show and changed the game for commentary everywhere. You were extraordinary. But that wasn't my strength, nor should it have been, nor did I want that, nor did the show need that. 'But the problem was that when something good happens, it's hard to not want everybody to do that good thing, so we can get more of that goodness, and make it even better because we've struck gold! It was like … 'No, Waleed is Waleed!' I should never have been you, we needed to be ourselves, and so often I felt like I needed to be someone else. Something clicked in my head and I realised, I just need to be me.'
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I do have pants on': The Project says goodbye with teary and funny final episode
In the end The Project delivered what it always promised: news done differently. Axed after 16 years and more than 4000 episodes, Friday night's 90-minute farewell was tear-stained yet joyful, a celebration of everything that made The Project truly different: it gave a voice to 'everyday Australians' without ever being condescending. There was no gotcha journalism, just thoughtful reporting and campaigning that made a difference. It had celebrities and musicians, and a roll-call of Australian talent, many of whom found a home on show. I cried, they cried, and I can only imagine the party going on there now. Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Georgie Tunny and comedian Sam Taunton helmed the desk for the final night, with special appearances from original The 7.30pm Project hosts Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes and Charlie Pickering, who videoed in from New Zealand. Bickmore, who only left two years ago, recalled receiving an enormous bunch of flowers from Oprah Winfrey (her son later broke the vase they arrived in), meeting Brad Pitt while she was bare foot on a boat, and thanked the viewers for all 'the feedback I've received on my looks'. She also reflected on the enormous support her charity Carrie's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer, which she started in 2015 after her husband Greg died of the disease. 'I wanted to raise a million dollars,' she said. 'I would not have raised over $25 million if it wasn't for you guys at home. When we started, I just wanted to raise awareness and now we have a brain cancer centre with people in clinical trials.' Hughes – perhaps the only person who didn't get teary – also recalled being so nervous on the day they met Brad Pitt, that he introduced himself as, 'Hi, I'm Dave, I'm friends with Eric Banana.' Pickering, meanwhile, said the first episode in 2016 was like 'building the plane while you fly it … somehow we figured it out. ' Loading Regular co-hosts Tommy Little, Susie Youssef and Rachel Corbett popped by. Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Wilkinson also dialled in, with both praising The Project's ability to make genuine change, with Wilkinson naming the uncovering of the 'toxic workplace culture at Parliament House' as a personal highlight.
The Age
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘I do have pants on': The Project says goodbye with teary and funny final episode
In the end The Project delivered what it always promised: news done differently. Axed after 16 years and more than 4000 episodes, Friday night's 90-minute farewell was tear-stained yet joyful, a celebration of everything that made The Project truly different: it gave a voice to 'everyday Australians' without ever being condescending. There was no gotcha journalism, just thoughtful reporting and campaigning that made a difference. It had celebrities and musicians, and a roll-call of Australian talent, many of whom found a home on show. I cried, they cried, and I can only imagine the party going on there now. Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Georgie Tunny and comedian Sam Taunton helmed the desk for the final night, with special appearances from original The 7.30pm Project hosts Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes and Charlie Pickering, who videoed in from New Zealand. Bickmore, who only left two years ago, recalled receiving an enormous bunch of flowers from Oprah Winfrey (her son later broke the vase they arrived in), meeting Brad Pitt while she was bare foot on a boat, and thanked the viewers for all 'the feedback I've received on my looks'. She also reflected on the enormous support her charity Carrie's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer, which she started in 2015 after her husband Greg died of the disease. 'I wanted to raise a million dollars,' she said. 'I would not have raised over $25 million if it wasn't for you guys at home. When we started, I just wanted to raise awareness and now we have a brain cancer centre with people in clinical trials.' Hughes – perhaps the only person who didn't get teary – also recalled being so nervous on the day they met Brad Pitt, that he introduced himself as, 'Hi, I'm Dave, I'm friends with Eric Banana.' Pickering, meanwhile, said the first episode in 2016 was like 'building the plane while you fly it … somehow we figured it out. ' Loading Regular co-hosts Tommy Little, Susie Youssef and Rachel Corbett popped by. Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Wilkinson also dialled in, with both praising The Project's ability to make genuine change, with Wilkinson naming the uncovering of the 'toxic workplace culture at Parliament House' as a personal highlight.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Reflected the best of this country': Waleed Aly's teary on-air send-off as Network 10's The Project airs final episode
Waleed Aly has delivered an emotional send-off on-air alongside his regular co-hosts and some surprise guests, as the final episode of Network 10's The Project aired on Friday. The 16-year-old show came to an end after a period of declining ratings and to make room for a new current affairs and insight program 10 News+. Aly has been a co-host since the first episode aired, and paid tribute to the 'audacious TV experiment' started by some 'outstandingly creative people'. The show straddled the world of news, pop culture and comedy, he said. 'Could you create a world where Will Ferrell can interview the Prime Minister? It's not the done thing,' he told viewers. 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them. That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' 'This show reflected the best of this country.' The Project launched in 2009, and Friday's finale was the 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. Prominent Australian broadcaster Lisa Wilkinson hosted the show for four years from 2018, but was one of the few former hosts not to appear live or by video link. 'I'm incredibly proud of the work that we did in helping to expose the toxic workplace culture women working in Parliament House have for far too long had to endure,' Wilkinson said in the prerecorded message. 'I'm really sad that a show as important and loved as The Project has been over the years won't be on any screens any more. I mean, 11 Logies and a Walkley, that ain't nothing.' Dialling in from a UK airport on his holiday, long-serving reporter Hamish Macdonald pushed back against critics after a highlight reel of the show's grittier reporting. 'Reflecting on all of the stories put together – I read these descriptions of The Project as things like 'woke' and watching all of those stories – it's not what I see reflected. 'I see stories of Australians that maybe weren't always shown on television, that were really important. Really meant things.' Macdonald mentioned the ongoing saga of refugee Ali Yasmin, one of a group of Indonesian teenagers unlawfully imprisoned in adult jails by the Australian government. 'I'm really proud that we've done that work. I think journalism that doesn't irritate people isn't really journalism, it's just PR. So I'm really proud of all of that work,' Macdonald said. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Bickmore left the show to fully devote herself to fundraising efforts. 'It's been ten years since my Gold Logie speech, since I started Carrie's Beanies for brain cancer and I genuinely, I wanted to raise $1m. I would not have raised over $25m if it wasn't for you guys at home watching. So thank you so much.' Comedic regular Tommy Little explained his motivation for joining the show. 'The one thing that I did want to say is to the people back home; my time on the show – which I will be forever grateful for – was just trying to make you laugh.' 'People at home, if you'd often have days where you wouldn't have a laugh – that's all I wanted to give you and I understand that it is a privilege doing what we get to do.'
