Enraged Aussies have taken to social media to slam the decision to name rocker Jimmy Barnes and his son David Campbell as joint Fathers Of the Year.
The duo were given the honour on Thursday by father advocacy organisation The Fathering Project, marking the first time the award has been given to two recipients.
David and Jimmy were famously estranged for years with the TV star only learning of his father’s identity when he was ten years old, but they now have a close relationship.
In a statement about the award, Today Extra host David Campbell, 51, said sharing the honour with his rock icon father Jimmy Barnes, 68, was ‘special’.
However, not all Aussies were pleased with the news, with many taking to social media to slam the decision, arguing they shouldn’t have been given the award just because of their fame.
‘Why famous people? Where’s the recognition for the true heroes, the real fathers of the year?,’ one person wrote on Instagram.
‘The dads out there slogging away silently at multiple jobs so their kids can do better than they did? The dads supporting, cheering, helping in their communities?
‘The dads inventing? The dads who’ve given up their lives to care for disabled kids? I could go on and on. Why are two celebrities so special?’
Enraged Aussies have taken to social media to slam the decision to name rocker Jimmy Barnes and his son David Campbell as joint Fathers Of the Year
Others called out the decision given David was unaware Jimmy was even his father until he was ten years old.
‘So, you can be a good father if, for the first ten years, you don’t tell your son that you’re his father,’ wrote one critic.
Another chimed in with: ‘Jimmy Barnes a father of the year. Imagine the ego to think yeah ok cool I’ll accept that.’
One follower added that they believed their own father was a better candidate than Jimmy for the award.
‘There are at least 5 million dads in that are more deserving of that award than Jimmy Barnes,’ they said. ‘My dad was light years ahead of Jimmy Barnes.’
However, it wasn’t all criticism, with many hitting social media to praise the decision.
‘What a duo,’ one fan wrote on the Today post. ‘Absolutely beautiful humans.’
David and Jimmy were famously estranged for years with the TV star only learning of his father’s identity when he was ten years old, but they now have a very close relationship
Not all Aussies were chuffed with the award, with many taking to social media to slam the decision, arguing they shouldn’t have been given the award just because of their fame
I’m A Celebrity host Julia Morris jumped in the comments on David’s post to offer her hearty congratulations with: ‘Congrats darling heart. You certainly lead by example.’
Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac also sent her well wishes with: ‘a simple congrats gents.’
David – who shares son Leo, 14, and twins Betty and Billy, 9, with his wife Lisa – gushed over how honoured he was to share the gong with his own father.
‘To be able to share this award with my Father is extremely special on many levels,’ he said.
‘He is the template for how I navigate my life as a parent. While it feels premature to receive this award – as my twins are in Primary school and my son is only in year 8 – it means so much to me all the same.’
Father-of-seven Jimmy added that fatherhood had brought about free-flowing ‘joy’ to his life and admitted he has ‘made mistakes’ in a heartfelt statement.
‘From the moment you look into your baby’s eyes until the day they are about to walk through the door to venture out on a life on their own, joy flows freely,’ the Cold Chisel frontman said.
‘I have watched David on his journey, grow from a small child into an awkward young man, along the way we both made mistakes but nothing we couldn’t sort out with patience and love.’
David – who shares son Leo, 14, and twins Betty and Billy, 9, with his wife Lisa – gushed over how honoured he was to share the gong with his own father
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Jimmy shares his son with Kim Campbell, but David only learned of his identity at the age of 10, previously thinking he was just a family friend, with the pair candidly speaking about their estrangement over the years.
‘I used to go see David when he was young but he didn’t know who I was. It must have been so weird for him,’ Jimmy admitted earlier this year on The Apple & The Tree podcast.
‘I’d been on tour with Cold Chisel and I’d be hungover and I’d have a leather jacket on and I’d turn up.’
David was raised by his grandmother, who he believed was his adoptive mother, while he thought his teenage mother Kim was his sister.
‘I found out when I was 10. It was very overwhelming,’ David previously shared.
‘I was having anxiety and I didn’t know who to talk to But this was the easier part of it because working out my sister was my mother [was hard].’
Jimmy also shares four children with his wife Jane – Mahalia, 42, Eliza-Jane, 40, Jackie, 39, and Elly-May, 35. He is also a father to Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn
Jimmy added: ‘He got unwell and he’d get migraines and we didn’t know what to do to calm him down. But there is no real way of softening that.’
The singer admitted he felt relived when he told David he was his father and said it didn’t take long before they developed a relationship.
Jimmy also shares four children with his wife Jane – Mahalia, 42, Eliza-Jane, 40, Jackie, 39, and Elly-May, 35.
The rocker is also father to Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn, who he found out about in 2010 after a paternity test.