Do we like Russell Crowe?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A decent record with real stains (a guilty plea over a thrown phone, some clumsy remarks), balanced by climate advocacy and plenty of quiet giving.
Crowe was born in Wellington, but the family moved to Sydney when he was a kid, and he calls himself an Aussie. He started on local TV and in films like Romper Stomper, then went to Hollywood with L.A. Confidential. He won the Best Actor Oscar for Gladiator, and he co-owns the Rabbitohs. He's the sort of bloke Australia claims on the good days.
The famous stain is 2005. After a row over a phone call home, he threw a phone at a hotel concierge in New York. He pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and got a conditional discharge. His lawyer said he had admitted he overreacted, and Crowe himself called it “possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in.” He also settled with the concierge.
Then there's the Azealia Banks stoush in 2016. Banks alleged he used a slur, choked her and spat at her at a hotel party, and she filed a battery report. The LA District Attorney's office reportedly found the report unjustified, and a comedian who says he was there backed Crowe's side. It's one person's account against a finding of no wrongdoing, so I'm not holding it against him.
Now the harm check. In 2011 he tweeted that circumcision was “barbaric and stupid”, then apologised for the distress. In 2017 he apologised for a crude Romper Stomper anecdote told at the AACTA Awards, which critics called tone deaf. Both were clumsy rather than campaigns. In the search I couldn't find any campaigning against LGBTQ+ people or any anti-vax or election-denial slide.
On the planet, he's on the right side. When the 2020 bushfires threatened his own home, he sent a statement to the Golden Globes, read out by Jennifer Aniston, tying the fires to climate change and calling for renewable energy. His recent work looks like ordinary action and thriller fare. I found nothing about him keeping company with anyone pushing grievance politics.
The good stuff is practical. In 2019 he auctioned a battered Rabbitohs cap for the NSW Rural Fire Service, and Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes matched the winning bid, which lifted the total to about $400,000. Reports also describe a string of smaller gifts, though some of those are unconfirmed by him.