Magda Szubanski has deleted several tweets attacking Scott Morrison’s ‘Satan’s plan’ sermon after claiming she was ‘crucified’ for questioning his religious views.
The Kath and Kim star linked to a video clip of the former prime minister addressing controversial tennis star Margaret Court’s Pentecostal Church on Sunday in Perth.
He told the congregation anxiety was ‘Satan’s plan’ for Australians and that they should trust God, not governments, in a wide-ranging, hour-long sermon.
But Szubanski raged to radio star Wendy Harmer, who had tweeted quotes from Mr Morrison’s sermon: ‘We know how crucified I was by MSM [mainstream media] for daring to mention any of this.’
In a follow up tweet, she added: ‘I got hung out to dry cos (sic) I dared question that this was what Scott Morrison was about all along.’
Magda Szubanski deleted the two tweets after she responded to Mr Morrison’s sermon
Szubanski, 61, deleted that tweet, and another version of it, as well as the tweet to Ms Harmer within moments of posting them online.
The Aussie actor came under fire in April last year after she compared Scott Morrison and his wife to Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian thriller where women are uneducated, subservient to men and ruled by Bible-touting dictators.
She doubled down on her comments and said they were a restrained way of drawing attention to the fact that she thinks elements of ‘far-right’ Christian conservatism are increasingly present in politics.
‘That was a mild way of drawing attention to the fact I do have concerns about, and trust me this is not about the majority of Christians, but the element of the far-right,’ she told A Current Affair.
‘And – they are really going to come for me now – I think that is a concern.’
Ms Harmer, 66, also tweeted about the sermon and said Mr Morrison had been given an easy ride as PM with no-one questioning the impact his religious beliefs had on his job.
‘Scott Morrison was afforded a lot of cover for his fundamental beliefs while he was in office,’ she said in a post that was liked 2,000 times and retweeted almost 300 times.
‘It was deemed “impolite” or “unimportant” or “too personal” to question him too deeply, and that was largely respected. That was wrong.’
Magda Szubanski deleted the tweets shortly after posting them
The Kath and Kim star previously said she was concerned about far-right people entering politics
Mr Morrison, 54, was given a rockstar welcome at Ms Court’s church after he jetted into Perth on Sunday for the first time since his election loss on May 21.
The ex-PM was a guest speaker at the event, celebrating the 27th birthday of Ms Court’s Victory Life Centre and the installation of its new Perth Prayer tower.
He dismissed the election defeat from the pulpit lectern and said it had not dented his faith.
‘Do you believe if you lose an election that God still loves you and has a plan for you? I do – because I still believe in miracles,’ he told the congregation.
It echoed the speech he gave after his 2019 election win over Labor’s Bill Shorten when he said: ‘I have always believed in miracles’.
The ex-PM focused on mental health for much of his sermon which also railed against government, and discussed his struggles to conceive with wife, Jenny.
‘The mental health strains and stresses and the anxieties that are driven in our society is having a real toll on people. It’s really serious,’ he said.
‘I’m not talking about fear. I’m talking about anxiety. Anxiety is longer lasting. Anxiety can be overwhelming. It can be debilitating, it can be agony.
‘God understands anxiety. God knows that anxiety is part of the human condition.’
But he said religious belief was the solution.
‘There’s one answer,’ he said. ‘God loves you…We cannot allow these anxieties to deny us – that that’s not His plan.
‘That’s Satan’s plan. That’s not His plan – and He has victory over all these things.’
The former prime minister also said people should put their trust in Christ, not governments.
‘We trust in Him,’ he said.
‘We don’t trust in governments. We don’t trust in the United Nations, thank goodness. We don’t trust in all of these things, fine as they might be.
‘Believe me, I’ve worked in it and they are important.
‘But as someone has been in it, if you are putting your faith in those things like I put my faith in the Lord, you are making a mistake.
‘They’re earthly, they are fallible.’
Scott Morrison (pictured speaking to guests on Sunday) said people should put their trust in God and Christ, not governments
Mr Morrison also revealed how he had shouted at the heavens in New Zealand after 10 courses of IVF had failed him and his wife Jenny as they tried to start a family.
‘It was heartbreaking,’ he said in the sermon.
‘It was awful, so I let God have it.
‘I’m walking through this forest on my own, shouting about how unhappy I was with Him. If people had heard this then they would have locked me up.
‘I poured my heart out to God about how it was impacting Jenny and how we had hoped for this and we were being denied. We felt He had a bigger plan.’
His first daughter Jenny was born some months later on July 2, 2007, he said, adding: ‘God’s got a sense of humour.’
Mr Morrison – sporting his new short and balding hairstyle – appeared in good spirits as he mingled with the guests and thanked ‘Christians around the country’ for their prayers over the past four years.
Mr Morrison also congratulated fellow Christian and professional tennis player Matt Ebden for his men’s doubles win at Wimbledon last week.
In the crowd were several high-profile Liberal Party members including former WA premier Richard Court – brother of Margaret Court’s husband Barry, who is a former WA Liberal Party president.
Mr Morrison also congratulated fellow Christian and professional tennis player Matt Ebden (left) for his men’s doubles win at Wimbledon last week
Ms Court (pictured with her husband Barry) publicly supported Mr Morrison during his time as prime minister and earlier this year asked her church to pray he be re-elected
Ms Court – who celebrated her 80th birthday on Saturday – publicly supported Mr Morrison during his time as prime minister and earlier this year asked her church to pray he would be re-elected.
In a video posted to social media, she asked they come together in prayer for Mr Morrison during the uncertain times and cited the upcoming election.
‘He is a strong Christian, a family man, has good values and morals,’ she said.
‘I thank you Father that Mr Morrison be re-elected 2022, that he has favour and influence on his life to take this nation through these uncharted times, that this nation be known as the Great Southern land of the holy spirit, in Jesus’ name.’
Ms Court found herself in hot water in 2017 after she wrote a letter to Qantas about her disappointment in its support for same-sex marriage.
The former Grand Slam champion said she would no longer fly with the airline over its support.
Ms Court (pictured with her husband) sparked controversy in 2017 after she wrote a letter to Australian airline Qantas about her disappointment in its support for same-sex marriage
Mr Morrison has posted a few pictures on social media as the highly-paid backbencher collects his salary and mows the lawns (pictured)
‘I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same sex marriage,’ she wrote.
‘I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible. Your statement leaves me no option but to use other airlines where possible for my extensive travelling.’
Her views on same-sex marriage sparked calls for the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park to be renamed – with some suggesting Aboriginal icon Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, who has won seven Grand Slams, as an alternative.
Mr Morrison sported a John Howard bald spot as he talked with ex-US vice president Mike Pence at the Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul (pictured)
Mr Morrison has been keeping busy since his federal election loss, flying into Seoul last week to make a speech at the Asian Leadership Conference.
The former PM also met former US vice-president Mike Pence as well as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mr Morrison spoke of how Australia performed better than most countries when it came to economic and health results during the pandemic.
But he also admitted his government’s response to Covid during 2020 and 2021 came at the cost of his top job.
Mr Morrison took a hefty pay cut when he lost the May election but will still pull in $217,000 a year on a backbencher’s base salary.
Back home, Mr Morrison has kept a low profile, occasionally posting to show off his South Sydney lifestyle – mowing the grass and attending sports games.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk