Radio host Ben Fordham has claimed Marty Sheargold doesn’t really believe the scandalous comments about the Matildas that got him sacked from his job with Triple Mand that his outburst was just a joke gone wrong.
The 2GB star’s remarks come as many other Australians defend the presenter and insist he did not deserve to be axed for what they see as him expressing an honest opinion and voicing the sort of criticism that is often levelled at male sporting sides.
Sheargold was discussing the national team’s losses at the SheBelieves Cup on Monday when he let fly with an outburst in which he compared the stars to ‘bitching’ Year 10 girls and said he’d rather mutilate his genitalia than watch them play.
His comments drew a wave of condemnation from sports fans, the prime minister, past and present Matildas players and the team’s interim coach – but Fordham swam against that tide when he addressed the furore on Thursday.
‘He knows that the joke didn’t land, he knows that many people viewed it as him punching down, but look, there’s something that you need to know about Marty Sheargold’s style of comedy, and I know this because I’ve listened to his podcasts for a long time: he says things all the time that he does not mean,’ Fordham began.
‘That’s not me defending him, he knows that he’s made a mistake, he’s acknowledged it, he did the wrong thing.
2GB host Ben Fordham (pictured) told his listeners that Marty Sheargold’s comments on the Matildas were only made for shock value and aren’t what the comedian really believes
Sheargold (pictured) has been axed from his job with Triple M after his comments outraged sports fans and high-profile Aussies including the prime minister and past and present Matildas stars
‘You know, jokes are funny when they land. And if they don’t land, I think it’s Jerry Seinfeld who said at one stage it’s a bit like a soccer goal, if you get it in the goal it’s a goal, if you miss, you miss – and this one missed.
‘But that’s what Marty Sheargold does all the time.
‘So I think to listeners, regular listeners to Marty Sheargold, they’ll say ‘but he does this all the time’ because he rips into his colleagues, his bosses, his fellow comedians who are mates of his, even his own family. He says really extreme things about them.
‘He doesn’t say these things because he truly believes them. He says them for shock value and he says them to get a laugh.
‘And I suppose – and Marty knows this better than anyone – in 2025 comedians have to walk the tightrope between getting laughs and not getting cancelled.’
While high-profile Aussies like Channel Seven star Mel McLaughlin and Olympic swimming great Cate Campbell have joined sports fans in slamming Sheargold, he also has plenty of supporters online.
There are some common themes in their takes on his comments, with many maintaining he did nothing wrong because if he’d made similar remarks about a struggling men’s team, he would not have been sacked.
Commenters also claimed he was within his rights to make the remarks because the Matildas shouldn’t be immune from criticism given their poor form, and that he was sacked due to ‘cancel culture’ and a lack of respect for free speech.
While lots of Australians slammed the comedian, plenty also stuck up for him online, saying he didn’t deserve to be sacked
‘The amount of people denouncing Marty Sheargold for what was essentially 30 seconds of a riff is absolutely baffling. Get the actual f**k off this app if you don’t approve of free speech. Cancel culture has no place here,’ one wrote on X.
‘You’re a loser if you’re trying to cancel a genuinely funny dude for something he said wrong live on air. I don’t have any time for such wimps. S**t take, Marty.’
‘No matter what Marty Sheargold said the fact remains that the Matildas are the most over hyped, over marketed and most importantly under performing team we have seen for decades. No silver ware in sight,’ said another.
‘Women’s sports is pushed down our throats relentlessly. And the hype for the Matildas is never ending. Regardless of them losing more games than they win,’ wrote a third.
‘Marty Sheargold didn’t say anything different to what the majority of men with normal testosterone levels think. These things are 1. The Matildas are the most divisive team in Australian sport. 2. Sam Kerr sucks. 3. No red-blooded males are going to watch the women’s Asian Cup,’ another added.
‘The Matildas feel like a combination [of] social justice, government grants and media spin. People don’t want to fall in love with something that will take a side in the next election.
‘I’ve heard Marty Sheargold say how much he hates soccer hundred of time. He rips everyone. Why are the Matilda’s so untouchable in this country? If he had said he’d rather put a nail in his head than watch Gold Coast why is there no issue? Genuinely asking here?’ another commenter wrote.
Anthony Albanese branded Sheargold’s take on the Matildas ‘completely unacceptable’ after the presenter singled out Sam Kerr and her fiancee Kristie Mewis (pictured together)
‘So what did Marty Sheargold say that was incorrect? He was absolutely spot on! The hysteria over a side that missed the quarters in the world cup was stupid! The rating outside of Australia were abysmal. Triple M were weak for not supporting Marty,’ another said.
On Thursday, Anthony Albanese added his voice to the criticism of Sheargold.
‘They were just shocking comments that anyone could think it, let alone say it,’ the prime minister said on Nova radio.
‘Completely unacceptable. The Tillies are just legends. They excited and brought together the whole country. The whole country was united in cheering for them.’
Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell also revealed that she’s been disturbed by the relative lack of men who have publicly slammed the comedian over his comments.
‘My question here is where are the men? There were two other men in that studio while Marty was making those comments… However, it took a woman, it took Rosie Malone, an Olympian in her own right, to call these comments out [in a TikTok post],’ Campbell told the Today show on Thursday.
‘Why is it women who are calling out the poor behaviour of men and not men stepping up? We don’t want to be in this trope. We don’t want to be the people who are saying, ‘Oh, you can’t take a joke, stop it.’ That’s not acceptable.’