Or, “Hairy Comedian in Hairy Situation,” as the New York Times so eloquently put it. No, this is no shoddy example of a hair-brained (sorry) April Fools joke – this week, Reginald Rant Robin Williams really did appear on The Late Show with David Letterman, and he really did call the proud people of Australia something akin to “English rednecks.”
Of course, having birthed both Paul Hogan and the Crocodile Hunter, may he rest in relative peace, the Australians certainly do not boast a reputation for backing down from conflict. Responding in kind, Kevin Rudd, Australia’s prime minister, issued a reply sure to make home in Alabama a little less sweet these days: “First of all, I think Robin Williams should go and spend a bit of time in Alabama, before he frames comments about anyone being particularly redneck.”
Ouch! How much longer before the ghost of Ronnie Van Zant weighs in on this A vs. A feud? Flight of the Conchords, maybe you’d like to collaborate on an anti-Australian/anti-Alabama-ian jam with Neil Young?
Check out an Australian news report below about the incident.
