'Bogan Halloween': Comedian slammed over controversial Anzac Day rant

A Melbourne comedian has been taken to task over a series of controversial Tweets labelling Anzac Day as “bogan Halloween”.

Catherine Deveny, a columnist and author, sparked a frenzy of social media abuse when she insisted Anzac Day was “f****** disgusting” and something that she believes “should have gone in the bin decades ago”.

“Why do people in the armed forces use the word ‘serve’ to describe their work despite it being no more dangerous or prone to upheaval than many other jobs?” she wrote in a Tweet one day before thousands gathered at dawn services around the country.

“It’s just a job and work. Throw the term ‘serve’ in the bin. It’s part of the fetishism of war and violence.”

The 50-year-old addressed some of her critics individually, including one soldier who asked her how many countries she had served.

“Catherine, I served my country, as a soldier, for 26 years. How many did you serve? Zero.”

“You didn’t serve your country, you chose a job in the violence industry,” she responded.

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Earlier in the week Deveny labelled Anzac Day as a “trojan horse for racism sexism, toxic masculinity, violence, homophobia and discrimination”.

“I abhor Anzac Day and can’t wait til it’s over. I am so delighted to hear the chorus increasing every year saying ‘Anzac Day is bulls***’,” she wrote.

3AW host and Sunrise regular Tom Elliot led a chorus of journalists and social media users condemning Deveny’s sentiments.

“Bloody hell, she is an absolute nutcase,” Elliot said.

“What on earth would Catherine Deveny, a left-wing, alleged, not very funny comedian know about such a thing?”

“It takes a lot of effort to concoct something as asinine as that statement,” one social media user said in response to her rant.

“I can only assume you’re desperate for some form of notoriety. Poor form.”