The Melbourne International Comedy Festival failed to pay official tribute to Barry Humphries despite the comic legend's decades of unwavering support for the event.
The Tony Award-winning entertainer died aged 89 on Saturday at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital following complications from hip surgery.
Relations between Humphries and the Melbourne festival’s organisers had soured in recent years following a number of disparaging comments made by the comedian about the transgender community. Festival organisers stripped Humphries’ name from the event’s biggest award - known as the Barry Award - following outcry over his remarks.
Festival director Susan Provan said the event’s organisers had been mulling removing Humphries’ name from their most prestigious award for “a while” but the comments had “played a part” in the name change. Margolyes, best known for her role in the Harry Potter film series, said MICF had cancelled Humphries “rather late in life” and the comedian had never been “properly appreciated by Australia”.
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