Ben Fordham Says Cancel Culture Is Alive and Well After Film Pulled
2GB host Ben Fordham told listeners a documentary was shelved over its maker's podcast appearance. The podcast host's views, and a station spokesperson's response, complicate the claim. Distributor Madman Entertainment has not commented.
2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham told listeners this week that cancel culture is alive and well, after a distributor shelved screenings and a promotional tour for the independent documentary Common Wealth.
"What does it take to get cancelled these days?" Fordham asked on air. He said the film's maker, Kane Guglielmi, had lost his distribution deal "just for being on a podcast".
The film and the claim
Common Wealth is billed as the story of how a conservatively raised capitalist sets out on a global journey to explore alternatives to the established economic and political models.
Guglielmi claimed he was cancelled for "sitting next to an army veteran", the 2 Worlds Collide podcast host Sam Bamford. Listeners of Ben Fordham Live heard a clip of Guglielmi saying: "Their only stated objection was to the podcast host whose views they considered racist."
"So much for free speech," Fordham said. He added that veterans like Bamford "put their lives on the line to protect those freedoms".
What the podcast contained
Guglielmi told Fordham he "didn't say anything controversial" on the episode. The episode runs about 90 minutes, and most of it was spent railing against "mass immigration".
Bamford said he did not want to be "demographically replaced" in his own country. Guglielmi responded that the "important thing" was Australia's low birthrate, which he said no one wants to talk about.
Near the end, Guglielmi said he expected to be "in a lot of trouble" after the conversation.
Station and distributor responses
A spokesperson for Tapt Media, which now owns 2GB, said Fordham "never suggested this was his take on the situation, he was relaying what Kane was claiming".
Listeners reacted strongly. Hundreds commented on Fordham's Facebook post, including one who wrote: "Can we be anymore like China? This reads communist regime all over."
The film's distributor, Madman Entertainment, did not respond to requests for comment on whether the film had been withdrawn or why. Common Wealth has disappeared from its website.
A separate row over alleged abuse
In another media story this week, SBS and NITV Indigenous affairs editor John Paul Janke responded to a report that a One Nation staffer shouted a racial slur about him. The alleged incident came at a party event after he asked Pauline Hanson a question at her National Press Club address in June.
Charles Swindon, a sacked former One Nation staffer, alleged he witnessed it. Janke wrote that he had "simply asked Hanson about her party's Indigenous Affairs policies. It's my job."
One Nation Treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce called the "hypothetical" slur unacceptable but questioned the veracity of the allegation.
