A fake profile impersonating Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has been discovered on the personalized video platform Cameo, offering messages for a fee. The profile, active since August, promises personalized content but is not authorized by Roberts-Smith, raising questions about its creator and the nature of the videos being offered.
As if being declared a war criminal by the courts, losing your last shot at getting that finding overturned, leaving your billionaire backer millions out of pocket and generally bringing great shame upon the Australian Defence Force wasn’t bad enough.
Now, the Victoria Cross recipient and former soldier has an impersonator. Recently brought to CBD’s attention was a profile bearing the name “Ben Roberts Smith, VC MG” on personalised video sharing website Cameo, which allows users to buy a brief, customised video message from a celebrity of their choice.The website was at its peak during the dark days of COVID lockdowns, drawing users desperate for a little dose of serotonin. And while the novelty value has waned, for $150 or so, you can still buy a personalised pep talk from a B-grade Hollywood actor or washed-up reality TV star, a disgraced footballer, or evenAnd now, it seems, BRS. The profile, which has been live since August last year, while Roberts-Smith was awaiting the Full Federal Court’s decision in his defamation appeal, promises birthday messages, pep talks, and advice starting from $151.59.”He was awarded the Victoria Cross, Medal of Gallantry and Commendation for Distinguished Service during multiple deployments in Afghanistan.” No mention of killing unarmed prisoners, strangely enough. Even stranger, CBD has it on good authority that the profile isn’t real, and was not created, or authorised, by Roberts-Smith. Who, then, was behind the account? And what kind of videos would customers be receiving from the fake BRS? At $150 plus a video, it’s a costly mystery to solve. So all we can conclude is that the person behind the account has a rather bizarre, dark sense of humour.Saturday was opening day at Heide Museum of Modern Art, the beloved arts institution that was for many years the country home of eccentric modernist art champions. But even more interesting than the artist’s “response to the domestic nature of Heide Modern” is what is happening behind the scenes.Crutchfield will maintain his board duties as chair of the Bell Shakespeare Company, the University of Melbourne Humanities Foundation, the University of Melbourne Law School Foundation and the Victorian Bar Foundation, “as well as various listed and unlisted companies”. Quite the portfolio. Meanwhile, the reputation of the Reeds continues to grow. The couple were at the intersection of Melbourne’s legal, cultural and social streams for decades. John Reed was a partner at law firm Blake & Riggall while Sunday Reed belonged to the OG Melbourne old-money family the Baillieus.spends plenty of time in from the cold. Burgess has been far more comfortable courting publicity than any of his predecessors, regularly getting up on his soapbox to remind us of all the big, scary threats to the nation lurking in the shadows.But Burgess’ next big speaking gig might stay in the shadows. In November, he’s set to play headline act at the Lowy Institute’s annual lecture, the flagship event for the country’s biggest foreign policy and national security think tank. Unfortunately for the institute, which last year charged upwards of $300-a-head for tickets to the event, this year’s lecture falls on the first Tuesday of November. Which, of course, is Melbourne Cup day. Once upon a time, that was enough to keep the pollies, policy wonks and bizoids distracted for an afternoon.is playing party pooper, with federal parliament scheduled to sit on Cup Day as well. That allows the government to dodge the unfortunate optics of any senior ministers being caught rolling around the Birdcage. And believe us, CBD has encountered plenty in years past. All of which means that Lowy might struggle to get interested punters over to Sydney Town Hall to hear Burgess tell us, yet again, that Australia is in the gravest danger it’s ever been in ever.is set to launch his new history of Australia not once but twice this week, with events in Sydney and Melbourne., Abbott has also been at the British Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester, where he told the faithful that migrant boats headed to the United Kingdom should be intercepted in the English Channel and turned back to France. Sound familiar? Anyway, Abbott has another big speaking gig coming up in December, when he’ll deliver the Sir David Smith Memorial Oration hosted by CBD’s friends at the Samuel Griffith Society.a platform at its annual conference. Heydon was, in 2020, found by an independent court-commissioned investigation to have sexually harassed six female associates. And before his fall from grace, Heydon had a good relationship with Abbott. He was on the selection panel that gave Abbott a Rhodes Scholarship in the 1980s. As PM, Abbott appointed the judge to run a royal commission into trade unions. Will Heydon show up to hear Abbott speak? He is steadily re-emerging into conservative judicial circles. And the speech will be held at the all-male Australian Club in Macquarie Street, Sydney. Naturally. Despite all the baggage, Heydon is still a member.is a special correspondent for The Age and CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously deputy editor of The Sunday Age. He is a former media editor of The Australian and spent six years in London working for The Guardian.is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a reporter for Crikey, covering federal politics from the Canberra Press Gallery.
Ben Roberts-Smith Cameo Impersonation Victoria Cross Defamation
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