Robbie Williams has taken a not-so-subtle potshot at an audience member during his Sydney New Year’s Eve performance.
The UK megastar, 50, was the headline act for the city’s New Year celebrations on Tuesday, which was broadcast on the ABC.
Robbie’s stellar performance was otherwise marred by an awkward exchange with an audience member.
After regaling the crowd with his chart-topper Let Me Entertain You and Wilson Pickett’s Land of 1000 Dances, Robbie and his 13-piece backing band launched into his 2002 track Me and My Monkey.
Robbie seemingly invited the audience to sing along, but was evidently less than impressed with one reveller’s rhythmic ability.
The singer awkwardly fell silent before chastising the audience member for their lack of timing.
Robbie Williams has taken a not-so-subtle potshot at an audience member during his Sydney New Year’s Eve performance on Tuesday night
‘You made me come in, in the wrong place,’ Robbie said.
‘Can you stop doing the lyrics to the song, then I don’t get it wrong.’
The camera then cut to a close up of Robbie, who was sporting an expression that suggested he was more than a little miffed with the audience member.
‘Now, okay?’ Robbie sternly instructed before continuing with the song.
Robbie’s eight song set was full of some of his biggest hots such as Feel, Better Man and Rock DJ.
He also surprised the crowd with a rousing rendition of the John Farnham classic You’re The Voice, before rounding out 2024 with his 2002 ballad Angels.
‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,’ Robbie chanted during the song’s bridge, with the audience responding with the obligatory: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi.’
However, Robbie’s bravura performance divided ABC viewers after the pop superstar took the opportunity to promote his new documentary, Better Man, launching into a shameless plug mid-set.
Robbie’s stellar performance was otherwise marred by an awkward exchange with an audience member during the song Land of 1000 Dances
Robbie seemingly invited the audience to sing along, but was evidently less than impressed with one reveller’s rhythmic ability
It was before Robbie’s performance of his 2000 hit Better Man that he gave a rave review to his own movie of same name.
‘Some critics are calling it the movie of the century! Not my words, except they are because I just made that up,’ he said to the crowd.
Robbie then asked if anyone had seen the movie as yet, and explained it had been filmed in Australia.
He even changed some of the lyrics to Better Man, and sang, ‘so go watch my movie, it’s full of drugs and sex, I’ve got my own biopic, I’m not even dead’.
The move divided viewers, with many annoyed that the ABC – a government owned, tax payer funded television station – was spending a pretty penny on Williams performance.
‘Did my tax dollars pay for this lazy Robbie Williams set? What the f**k. PR for a movie during a set as well?!’ wrote one person on X.
‘Robbie Williams is busy posing & promoting himself, how about singing a song,’ added another alongside a thumbs down emoji.
‘Your tax dollars hard at work with this Robbie Williams performance,’ posted another.
‘You made me come in, in the wrong place,’ Robbie said. ‘Can you stop doing the lyrics to the song, then I don’t get it wrong’
‘Robbie Williams on @ABCTV is a new low for this country. Our tax dollars down the f**king drain watching this washed up clown’ said one more.
‘And seeing the new year in with Robbie Williams spruiking his new movie in white pants and now covering John Farnham’s You’re The Voice, introducing it as the national anthem,’ another agreed.
‘We’re gonna get just 25-30 minutes of Robbie Williams. How much and who’s paying??’ said someone else.
Others heaped praise on the stellar performance from the megastar and didn’t mind the plug.
‘Imagine being so sooky on New Year’s Eve that you get offended about Robbie Williams plugging his movie that was shot and directed by Australians,’ wrote one.
‘Robbie Williams has saved the ABC’ said another, with someone else posting, ‘Robbie Williams saves our big event once again’.
