Drag star Courtney Act reveals ‘disastrous’ wardrobe malfunction moments before Australia’s hopes were dashed in Eurovision semi-final

Drag star Courtney Act suffered a ‘disastrous’ wardrobe malfunction just moments before Australia’s hopes were dashed in the Eurovision semi-finals.

Courtney, real name Shane Jenek, is taking on Eurovision hosting duties for SBS alongside Tony Armstrong. 

She shared a clip to Instagram just just prior to Australian hopeful Go-Jo taking to the stage in the second semi-final in Basel, Switzerland.

Shot in her hotel room, the clip shows Courtney busily getting glammed up in a Milkshake Man costume –  a nod of support to the Australian hopeful.

As she stepped into her form-fitting dress, the unthinkable soon happened with Courtney suffering a last minute wardrobe malfunction.

As she turned to ‘zip up’, a long string attached to the zipper, to aid in the process, snapped, leaving Courtney without a means to close her garment.

Not one to be dissuaded, Courtney quickly  hopped out of the dress to do a quick repair job.

However, disaster soon struck again when the zipper broke for a second time. 

Captioning the post, Courtney wrote: ‘What is your favourite milkshake flavour? @heyimgojo’s is Spearmint, I think mine is Banana.

‘Meanwhile disaster struck when my zipper broke getting ready! Will I make it to the ball on time?

‘Or just keep my back to the wall the whole night so no one notices my gapping dress? Thankfully Go-Jo came to the rescue!

While Courtney was unclear what the singer did to rescue the dress, she did admit in the comments that it was, indeed, fixed and she did make it to the event on time. 

‘I asked someone in the lobby to do it up for me. The zipper didn’t break, just the handle bit came off. Thankfully,’ she shared.

Her followers were quick to comment on the panic-inducing post, including fitness icon Michelle Bridges who empathised with the drag star.

‘OMFG I felt your pain instantly!!! Zippers!!!!!’ the former Biggest Loser host wrote.

Another chimed in with: ‘You are truly a professional b/c I WOULD CRASH OUT,’ while a third offered: ‘Why did I feel my heart drop when the zip came off.’

Despite narrowly avoiding sartorial disaster, Courtney was unable to prevent Go-Jo from crashing out of the iconic singing contest on Friday (AEST).

The Western Australian-born singer was competing alongside the likes of Montenegro, Ireland, Georgia, Czechia, and Serbia.

Go-Jo, real name Marty Zambotto, bowed out after his tongue-in-cheek song Milkshake Man, written by Aussie pop star Amy Sheppard, did not win over the crowd.

Devastated fans went online to share their heartbreak over Go-Jo’s shock elimination. 

Just got back home from work and seen Australia’s Milkshake Man has not made the Final at Eurovision. What the hell?!? We should all be ashamed! Ridiculous. Justice for Go-Jo,’ one devastated fan wrote.

‘I’m speechless. He gave us a wonderful show and Europe paid him dust. We are proud of you Go-Jo,’ a second person added.

‘Go-Jo not qualifying in #Eurovision.. RIGGED,’ another sniped, as a fourth added: ‘The biggest robbery that I’ve seen in Eurovision history. So sorry Go-Jo. I REALLY wished you qualify.’

Despite the loss, the singer sad it was an ‘incredible’ experience. 

‘Aside from the result this journey has been the most incredible thing that I’ve ever experienced in my whole entire life,’ Go-Jo said after the performance. 

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest grand final will be broadcast from 5am (AEST) on Sunday, and replayed at 7.30pm, on SBS and SBS On Demand.