Teo himself has frequently railed against the “tall poppy syndrome” alive and well in the medical fraternity,which has calcified into an “agenda to destroy Charlie Teo”.
This week’s hearing has revealed allegations he an unconscious patient across the face and used inappropriate language with another.
But allegations against Teo haven’t stopped high-profile supporters,including boxerAnthony Mundine and former Test cricket captainSteve Waugh,turning up to show support.
Meanwhile,Teo seems to be using his time off from surgery to get well-accustomed with the work of right-wing cancel culture types. Appearing on a with businessman and former Celebrity Apprentice hostMark Bouris,Teo cited,unprompted,a discussion between infamous conservative provocateursJoe Rogan and Jordan Peterson.
“You know Jordan Peterson? Did you listen to his interview with Joe Rogan?” Teo asked Bouris.
“He’s going through the same thing I’m going through … that whole tall poppy thing.”
In the same episode,Teo questioned the “conservative” views of most doctors around COVID vaccines.
“We[doctors] were told you couldn’t say anything bad about the vaccine,” he said.
In 2019,Teo also appeared on a podcast with celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans,and discussed his concerns about the potential links between mobile phone usage and brain cancer. He resisted Evans’ attempts to get him to attack 5G technology.
Teo has also expressed his admiration for billionaire mining magnate and conservative bankrollerGina Rinehart,who’s been a generous donor to his foundation.
“Before I met Gina all I had heard was negative things about her and I thought she was a mean bitch,” he told the News Corp papers in 2018.
“She has got a good soul and she very much is misunderstood. She’s got a heart and a big heart at that.”
Whatever happens with the hearing this week,there’s always an alternative career as a talking head in the waiting,should Teo want it.
LOWE DOWN
Reserve Bank bossPhilip Lowe seems genuinely shocked at the way he’s become a kind of punching bag for people mad about spiralling interest rates.
Shakespeare
And at an appearance before Senate Estimates on Wednesday,Lowe,who’s suddenly copping heat over his circa $1 million pay packet,clearly looked to be adopting a more humble sartorial appearance.
Lowe normally wears an IWC around his wrist – the kind of timepiece that retails in the thousands. On Wednesday,he had a more budget-friendly Fossil watch. But an eagle-eyed observer noted the watch still displayed the date as the 10th,a good five days off.
Maybe the fossil doesn’t get much of a spin,saved for the inquisitors of Senate estimates,with the flashy IWC reserved for lunches with Barrenjoey banker bros.
FIGHTING FIT
Strange but true – struggling fitness franchise F45 is still able to find people to put money into it,despite heavy losses,looming class actions and separate legal stoushes with some of its has-been sporting ambassadors.
Stranger still,Australian co-founderAdam Gilchrist (not the cricketer) and Hollywood frontman-for-hireMark Wahlberg have survived a board purge by the New York private equity outfit which has pumped $US90 million into keeping the franchising outfit afloat.
Former NAB and Westpac banker Ben Coates will also stick around on the board,but it’s losing much of its antipodean flavour,with AustraliansVanessa Douglas,Canstar Chief technical officerAngelo Demasi and fitness guruLee Wallace resigning their seats,according to the company’s official statement,and replaced by a clutch of Americans.
Another Australian,co-founderRob Deutsch who tapped out of F45 three years ago and is now to be found more in the real estate pages than the business sections,gave the company a free public appraisal last year,accusing it of “terrible financial mismanagement” by paying big name “has-beens” likeGreg Norman andDavid Beckham millions of dollars to act as brand ambassadors.
But the boys from the Big Apple obviously like their chances of licking the cult-like fitness franchisor into shape.
BARK LATHAM
We brought word this week that the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies is set to host what looked a little like a campaign event for the wife of Macquarie Street’s departing dinosaurFred Nile.
Turns out Nile isn’t the only hard right member of the NSW Legislative Council in chief executiveDarren Bark’s orbit. In December last year,the organisation held a joint Chanukah-Deepavali event with the Hindu Council of Australia to celebrate the banning of Nazi symbols in NSW.
While that seems like standard practice for such a community organisation (although it was a good month after the Hindu festival),the presence ofMark Latham not only showing up at the event but giving a speech rubbed some members of Sydney’s Jewish community the wrong way,leaving them wondering what the organisation was doing getting so cosy with such figures.
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