Em Rusciano has spoken of her once fractured relationship with comedian Tom Gleeson, just weeks after appearing on Hard Chat, the segment he hosts on The Weekly.
In an interview with Wil Anderson on his Wilosophy podcast, Rusciano raised their once-splintered relationship in the context of having found it difficult to prove herself as a comedian to older men in the industry.
“I did Hard Chat a couple of weeks ago with [Tom] Gleeson and he’s someone who’s been horrible to me for a decade,” she said, before flagging the story does have a “happy ending”.
“[It was] like I don’t exist, he flat out ignored me for two hours on a flight and I got the call to come [on his show] and I was like, ‘Are you sure?'”
While Anderson said he was “too scared to go on Hard Chat”, Rusciano said she was not fazed by the jabs that came.
“I am bullet proof when it comes to that stuff.”
Namely, Gleeson took aim at Rusciano’s radio show ratings, having hosted 2DayFM’s breakfast show in Sydney since early 2017.
“You’re currently on breakfast radio with Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee,” Gleeson said at the time. “There’s three of you in the studio… is that more than the number of listeners you have?”
Rusciano wasn’t bothered by the dig, saying: “Yes, by one.”
In the most recent round of radio ratings, Rusciano’s show posted a one point gain, demanding a 4.4 point share of the Sydney breakfast market.
Top Comments
So, her only issue with Gleeson is that he didn't chat to her on a plane flight? Wow, who does she think she actually is? Clearly she has delusions of grandeur and importance and thinks of herself as more prominent and influential than she actually is.
I admit I HATED her on AI. I remember noticing that she would look around the studio looking to see if she was on camera, and then she'd be pretending to cry if she was. She seemed so fake, and I was stunned and rather miffed that she became some 'journo' people quote. That a manipulative fake like her was actually rewarded is bad enough, but for her to bad-mouth someone *just* because they didn't engage in conversation on a plane (maybe he was busy writing scripts, catching up on work, or maybe, just maybe, having a hard time, felt introspective and didn't feel like chatting?) really shows she is still manipulative, fake, nasty and rude. Any bets on this not being posted? lol
Or maybe he didn't know who she was? She's far from a household name. I personally only remember her from AI days (and even then, she wasn't even one of the finalists!).
I’m guessing this is why Em was pissed about whatshisface from MAFS going off and becoming a comedian. She may have started on Aus Idol, but she’s spent years working in the industry, doing the tough shows, and ‘paying her dues’ as it were. It’s the same reason people were ticked about Sam Frost walking into a radio gig, it felt like she didn’t earn it.
She should have put her big girl pants on and realised that if that was her issue with the MAFS bloke, she's being a hypocrite.
I'd say the reason Tom didn't give her the time of day for so long is because she's not very funny, not because she's a woman.
Yep, but she appears to forget she probably never would have been employed in the industry or sustained as long in the early days, had it not been for Oz Idol. There's a huge element of entitlement around her.
Australian Idol was a huge step up and a foot in the door for her, same as MAFS was for Ryan. It reeks of hypocrisy for her to criticise him for trying to do the same thing she did.
Not to mention the fact that we don't yet know if this is going to go anywhere for Ryan. MAFS is still fresh enough in people's minds that many would go to see him out of morbid curiosity. If he's not funny or interesting otherwise, it'll all fizzle out. It's not like anyone is saying he's the next big thing in comedy or anything.
Yeah, other excerpts from the same interview with Anderson pretty much have her saying she's a pain in the arse at work. Not sure why she thinks Tom Gleeson (or anyone else) should be giving her the time of day if she's a self-professed unpleasant person to be around.