Furious Australians have called for AFL fans to ‘boo’ Tina Arena when she takes to the stage for the hotly-anticipated Grand Final.
The singer, 56, will be joining headliner Katy Perry on stage at the MCG in front of 100,000 AFL fans for the Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans showdown on Saturday.
However, their surprise collaboration has left many fans unimpressed as they have criticised AFL bosses’ decision to include Tina in the entertainment line-up.
Her divisive comments about Daniel Andrews’ lengthy Covid lockdowns in Victoria have resurfaced following the announcement, with many arguing she should be ‘booed’ on stage.
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – one fan wrote: Everyone needs to Boo the f**k out of #TinaArena at the Grand Final Tomorrow!’
Another said: ‘TONE DEAF! Why on earth would the AFL pick a washed up, 90’s French-wannabe has-been as entertainment? Did they not learn anything from Meatloaf?’
A third penned: ‘Katy Perry will be performing with Tina Arena tomorrow. Shall be interesting to see how many boos she gets from the 100,000 people in the stadium.’
‘Reserving my thoughts on Tina Arena performing with Katy Perry at the AFL GF for now,’ a fourth tweeted.
Furious Australians have called for AFL fans to ‘boo’ Tina Arena when she takes to the stage for the hotly-anticipated Grand Final
The singer, 56, will be joining headliner Katy Perry at the MCG in front of 100,000 AFL fans for the Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans showdown on Saturday
While another added: ‘Please tell me Victorians are going to boo Tina Arena?’
However, other fans shared their delight that Tina was going to be taking to the stage alongside the Roar hitmaker, 39, as they lauded the collaboration.
One wrote: ‘I adore Tina Arena! Absolute legend she is,’ and another shared: ‘Lmao society is f**ked if they boo Tina Arena.’
A third said: ‘Tina Arena is a wonderful choice,’ while a fourth commented: ‘I’d forgotten how good Tina Arena is.’
A fifth penned: ‘Melbourne at its best with the jewel in our crown, awesome Tina,’ and another added: ‘Tina, you are a true Melbourne icon.’
Tina sparked controversy with her disapproval of the Victorian Covid-19 lockdowns and incited anger when she revealed she broke the rules to resist what she called a ‘totalitarian’ system.
While she did not publicly endorse any conspiracy theories, she deliberately broke the rule advising citizens not to travel more than 5kms from home unless necessary.
‘Why can’t you drive more than five kilometres? Guess what – watch me. So I did. I drove past my five kilometres,’ she told The Weekend Australian last year.
But many fans have been left unimpressed after Tina’s divisive comments about the Covid lockdowns in Victoria have resurfaced following the announcement
Many Aussies took to social media to argue that Tina should be ‘booed’ when she appears on stage as they criticised her involvement in the AFL Grand Final
‘Am I a criminal now? You want to pull me up? Pull me up. You want to fine me? Fine me. I’m not the one with the issue here.
‘The issue is, there is no logic. You have no right to do that. You are fining me. This is totalitarian. We don’t work like that.’
Tina went on to claim that she hadn’t heard anyone else complaining about the stringent lockdowns as she doubled down on her criticism of the rules.
‘I didn’t hear anybody complaining during lockdown other than me: ‘Why are we locked up? Where’s your science? What? Why?’,’ she went on.
‘The fear was so much for me; it was choking me, I was like, I can’t cope with all of you being so fear-driven like this, and compliant.’
It was not the first time Tina spoke out in defiance of the Covid lockdowns and was widely slammed on social media for being ‘selfish’ because of her remarks.
In August last year, Tina broke her silence on the backlash as she confessed she had been faced with ‘difficulties’ because of her vocal stance.
She said: ‘Mine was difficult as well for a number of different reasons. Not only what I felt was an extraordinary imposition and it’s a stance that I’ve taken which a lot of people don’t really agree to.’
Speaking on Jonesy and Amanda, she told listeners she was not prepared to ‘hold back’ her own opinions and that people are free to think what ever they want.
Tina is expected to take to the stage alongside Katy Perry for the pre-game entertainment, as the pair were spotted rehearsing together on Thursday
This week, Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed that Tina had been booked in as a special guest for the AFL Grand Final.
Organisers are hoping she will create another memorable TV moment after Delta Goodrem performed with Robbie Williams in an iconic show at last year’s final.
She is expected to take to the stage alongside Katy Perry for the pre-game entertainment, as the pair were spotted rehearsing together on Thursday.
Tina, best known for her hits Burn and Chains, has been signed up after plans reportedly fell through to have Kylie Minogue perform.
