Australians turn on ‘entitled’ Paul Hogan after he begged to return home

Paul Hogan said on Tuesday he was ‘desperate’ to return to Australia as his adopted home city of Los Angeles is battered by Covid-19 and a surge in crime.

But it seems Aussies are less eager to welcome back the once-beloved comedian, who abandoned his native country decades ago when his Hollywood career took off.

Hogan, 81, failed to win any sympathy from viewers when he told Sunrise hosts David ‘Kochie’ Koch and Natalie Barr he wanted to leave LA for good – only to then whinge about the prospect of 14 days of hotel quarantine.

Viewers flocked to Twitter to share their thoughts on Hogan’s ‘entitled’ attitude, with one writing: ‘Quarantine like everyone else… or stay in America.’

Another tweeted: ‘Wants to come back but won’t do hotel quarantine. He’s not that desperate then if he won’t follow the rules.’ 

Over Sunrise’s Facebook page, many fans shared the same sentiments.

One furious Aussie commented: ‘Quarantine like every other human being. You’re not special.’

‘Am I homesick? You bet your life’: Hogan, 81, failed to win any sympathy from viewers when he told Sunrise hosts David ‘Kochie’ Koch and Natalie Barr he wanted to leave LA for good – only to then whinge about the prospect of 14 days of hotel quarantine. Pictured in December 2016

‘He can’t be that desperate if he won’t quarantine for two weeks,’ another wrote, while a third added: ‘He said it! Bored and sick of being locked down! That’s the only reason he wants to come to Australia.’

Several viewers pointed out that Hogan had chosen LA as his home many years ago, and only wanted to return to Australia because of Covid-19.

‘He is home, he lives there, so what is he homesick about?’ one critic asked. 

Another pointed out: ‘He said it! Bored and sick of being locked down! That’s the only reason he wants to come to Australia.

‘If Covid wasn’t there you would not want to come here. Stay where you are. That’s your home that you made.’  

Ouch: Viewers flocked to Twitter to share their thoughts on Hogan’s ‘entitled’ attitude, with one writing: ‘Quarantine like everyone else… or stay in America’

Backlash: Over Sunrise’s Facebook page, many fans shared the same sentiments

He’s made his bed: Several viewers pointed out that Hogan had chosen LA as his home many years ago, and only wanted to return to Australia because of Covid-19

However, some fans sided with the ‘elderly’ actor. 

‘Lot of mean people here. He is an elderly 81 year old fella obviously homesick. A bit of compassion wouldn’t hurt,’ one supporter wrote on Facebook. 

‘Why can’t he come home? Every other person is flying in here! Get on a plane, Hoges,’ another added.

In his interview with Sunrise, Hogan spoke for the first time about his miserable life in crime-ravaged Los Angeles during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rules: Aussies were furious Hogan seemed resistant to completing two weeks of quarantine

Old man: However, some fans sided with the ‘elderly’ actor. ‘Lot of mean people here. He is an 81 year old fella obviously homesick. A bit of compassion wouldn’t hurt,’ one supporter wrote

He revealed he was ‘desperate’ to return to Australia and leave his life in America behind.

‘I am desperately homesick,’ he told said during a video chat from his $4.5million LA mansion.

Hogan lives in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a vast increase in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach’s famous boardwalk and resulted in a sharp increase in crime. 

‘You’re living in the country, alongside New Zealand, that’s the light of the world,’ Hogan told the presenters.

‘And I’m living in LA County, which is 10 million people and half of them have got Covid. So am I homesick? You bet your life,’ he complained.

Life sucks: In his interview with Sunrise, Hogan spoke for the first time about his miserable life in crime-ravaged Los Angeles during the coronavirus pandemic

‘Hell on earth’: Hogan lives in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a vast increase in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach’s famous boardwalk and resulted in a sharp increase in crime  

When asked how he was coping with Los Angeles’ recent crime wave, Hogan simply said he ‘doesn’t go anywhere’.

‘[I’m] bored in lockdown, and the minute I can get on the plane without being locked in a hotel for two weeks, I’m back,’ he said.

The movie star went on to explain he ‘wouldn’t survive’ Australia’s mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.

‘My son [Chance] would have to be with me… we’d strangle each other,’ he said.

‘My son [Chance] would have to be with me, we’d strangle each other’: The movie star went on to say he ‘wouldn’t survive’ Australia’s mandatory 14-day quarantine

Elsewhere in the interview, Hogan said he was sick of anti-vaxxers in America, calling them ‘brainless cowards’.

‘They don’t care about anyone else. [They say], “I’m brave, I like freedom.” What about your grandma? You killed her. All of that gets on top of you, and I want to escape it for a while,’ he said.

Hogan is currently holed up inside his ‘fortress-like’ $4.5million mansion with his son Chance, 23, according to reports.

Fears: Hogan is holed up inside his ‘fortress-like’ $4.5million mansion with his son Chance, 23 

‘Where Paul lives in hell on earth,’ Hogan’s neighbour Tyler Proctor, a local politician, told Woman’s Day on Monday.

‘His house is like a fortress and it needs to be. I can see why [he] wants to move out,’ Mr Proctor added. 

Hogan moved to the United States permanently in 2005, after growing up in Granville in Sydney’s western suburbs.  

However, the comedian revealed last year that he was itching to leave the U.S. as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is over.

‘I’m here out of paternal duty’: Despite yearning to come back to Australia, Hogan said he would remain living in Venice to be a part of his son Chance’s life. Pictured in December 2016

‘I can’t wait for this stupid disease to go away so I can get out,’ Hogan revealed in the News Corp podcast Evenin’ Viewers with Paul Hogan.

‘I’m like a kangaroo in a Russian zoo – I don’t belong here.’ 

Despite yearning to come back to Australia, Hogan said he would remain living in Venice to be a part of his son’s life.

Hogan shares Chance with his Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski, whom he married in 1991 before divorcing in 2014.

Terrifying situation: It comes as residents of Venice say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable

‘I’m here out of paternal duty because my kid is an American,’ he said.

‘My kid is a “Yaussie”, a yank Aussie, he went to school here, his friends are here, his band is here.’

Hogan added that if Chance was prepared to move with him to Australia, he would be ‘out of here in a flash’. 

Tent city: The world-famous beach community, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city. However, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents 

Police patrol the Venice Beach Boardwalk on April 20, which has seen an explosion in homeless numbers during COVID lockdowns

It comes as residents of Venice say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable.

Business owners say they are being forced to close their doors and longterm residents are afraid to leave their homes after dark after being subjected to violent attacks and intimidation. 

The world-famous beach community, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city. 

Venice Family Clinic’s Director of Homeless Services Dr. Coley King, left, treats Kenard Durr, center, at the world-famous beach. A homeless encampment at the beach has exploded during COVID lockdown (April 20)

However, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents.   

Venice Neighbourhood Council member Soledad Ursua said the homeless encampments had exploded during the COVID-19 lockdowns. 

She said residents were afraid to be out after dark, and there were fights several times a day and shootings and stabbings on a weekly basis. 

Rubbish and waste litter the golden sands of Venice Beach. Anti-social elements have made it dangerous to go out after dark, residents say

Fights occur several times a day, while shootings and stabbings are common, say residents of Venice Beach, who are fearful of increased crime rates since the homeless encampments became permanent

‘It’s just a very dangerous time to be a Venice resident right now,’ she said.  

According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighbourhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighbourhood are up 177 per cent from last year.

The same period has also seen a 162 per cent increase in cases of assault with a deadly weapon involving a homeless person.   

‘Venice’s world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,’ a letter to city and county officials from residents says 

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents have put their signatures to a letter pleading for help from city and county officials.

‘Venice’s world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,’ it says.

‘Local children are refusing to come to the beach because they’re frightened by what they’ve witnessed. Seniors who live on or near the boardwalk are terrified of walking in their own neighbourhoods.’  

According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighbourhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighbourhood are up 177 per cent from last year