A tweet from TOM GLEESON on Friday afternoon sent the twitter sphere into meltdown when the comedian stated he had quit his TV game show HARD CHAT in a media release posted to his twitter account.
MEDIA STATEMENT
May 24, 2019
I’ve decided to step down as the host of Hard Quiz and discontinue production of the show. This was not an easy decision to make and I appreciate there are many fans of the show for which I will always be grateful. The demands of hosting a show has meant I was unable to spend as much time as I would like performing stand up. I’d like to thank everyone who worked on the show, Thinkative TV and for the ABC for their support. I’d especially like to thank all the contestants who were such great sports.
Thanks for playing HARD!
Tom Gleeson.
But it was all a con.
Tom Gleeson has not left the ABC and Hard Quiz will continue with him as the host. Sources within the ABC have told TV Blackbox insiders were warned of the prank ahead of the ‘announcement’.
TV Blackbox made the decision to remove an article regarding Hard Quiz’s axing from our website on Saturday after growing suspicious.
I’M UP FOR THE GOLD LOGIE! Last year proved you can only win if you don’t have a show. That’s why I axed myself. When I win Gold, I promise I will un-axe #HardQuiz immediately. Please forgive me HARD! Voting opens June 24. #Gleeson4Gold #tvweeklogies pic.twitter.com/vYj9Z9Sono
— Tom Gleeson (@nonstoptom) May 26, 2019
While we are all still waiting for the joke to fully play out we understand it is tied in with the Logies. On Sunday afternoon Gleeson was announced as one of seven nominees for the Gold Logie. The nomination came after he famously helped Grant Denyer win the award last year after Family Feud was axed.
Shortly after the nomination was announced, Gleeson posted a message to fans on Twitter indicating he would ‘un-axe’ the program immediately once he wins Gold.
There were hints right from the beginning. The ‘Media Release’ was not on ABC letterhead and the ABC issued the following statement to media outlets on Saturday morning;
“Tom’s statement that he has sacked himself from Hard Quiz is news to us, particularly as we have 10 new episodes airing later this year. Sounds like Tom needs to have a good old HARD chat with himself.”
Not the way the ABC would usually reply to a big story.
Many on social were upset by the news but others suspected something from the very beginning. It turns out they were right.
Co-Creator and Editor of the TV Blackbox website, Robert McKnight is highly regarded Australian Television Producer, he has worked at SEVEN, NINE and TEN, and is most well-known for creating and producing STUDIO 10. Currently Rob is the host and producer of the TV Blackbox, McKnight Tonight and Monsters Who Murder podcasts.
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