‘A costly beer’ Complaint filed against Ash Barty for drinking beer live on TV after winning the 2022 Australian Open


‘A costly beer’ Complaint filed against Ash Barty for drinking beer live on TV after winning the 2022 Australian Open

Ash Barty

World No. 1 Ash Barty justified her tag as the title favourite at the 2022 Australian Open with the 25-year old winning the Grand Slam without dropping a single set and ending Australia’s wait of 42 years for a homegrown player to win a singles title at the Melbourne Park where the Grand Slam is hosted for the fortnight.

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Barty reached the finals without dropping her service and apart from her 4th round win over Amanda Ansimiova, she did not lose more than 5 games in any match up to the finals (Anisimova won 7 games). In the finals against Danielle Collins, Barty won the first set easily and Collins made a fantastic recovery and looked to take the match into the 3rd set. Barty was 1-5 down but held the fort to win all of the remaining games to clinch the title without dropping a set.

As the Rod Laver Arena broke out in huge cheers and appreciated Barty’s win, Channel 9 prepared for the champion’s interview. Being done with the trophy presentation ceremony and a lap on the court to thank the fans, Barty proceeded to her interview with Channel 9 where along with commentators Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik, Barty enjoyed a celebratory beer to mark a historic day for the Australians.

The celebrations were however not appreciated by a few and a complaint was filed against the channel and the player. “I think the segment glorified and glamorised alcohol and was very deceptive if it was indeed a paid promotion. Why else are they doing it if it wasn’t a paid stunt? It’s poor when many children were up watching the final and Ash Barty is a role model for many girls too,” read the complaint sent to Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC).

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Ash Barty and Channel 9 cleared of any wrong doings

Ash Barty
Ash Barty

The ABAC however did not find any misconduct by either Barty or Channel 9 and cleared both the parties as the complaint was dropped eventually. “Carlton & United Breweries was not aware that our brands Peroni and Corona would be depicted in this or any other post-match interview. We were not contacted by Channel Nine with respect to any reference to our brands,” a spokesperson from the beer company stated while Barty did not speak on the matter.

Ash will next be seen in action directly at the 2022 Indian Wells Open in March and is likely to play at the 2022 Miami Open as well, being the 2-time defending champion in Miami this year. Barty has however hinted that she will be playing a limited number of tournaments in order to remain free to visit home as per her wish.

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