‘Pay or play’ clause means Hopkins is set to pocket full $200,000 fee - Sydney Morning Herald

However, while it was the same authorities that granted Hopkins her “critical skills visa” and then expelled her following boasts she was not adhering to Sydney’s quarantine rules, Seven executives had already been growing increasingly nervous about the impact the controversy was having on its big advertisers after social media activist group Sleeping Giants Oz got involved.

Previously described by arch-conservative commentator Janet Albrechtsen as “the online Stasi for the 21st century”, Sleeping Giants is run by a loose collection of anonymous individuals and has nearly 44,000 followers on Twitter, who are regularly called into action to boycott and target advertisers on shows that are deemed to promote racist, bigoted, misogynistic and anti-environmental views.

Advertisers on Jones’ show were pressured to stop advertising after he was accused of bullying Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron in 2018.

Following Hopkins’ rants, Sleeping Giants singled out Seven’s top-tier advertisers including Woolworths, Optus, Toyota and McDonald’s.

Sleeping Giants also singled out Seven’s big name stars, including Big Brother host Sonia Kruger, Sunrise co-hosts Natalie Barr and David Koch, along with newsreaders Mark Ferguson and Michael Usher, demanding they protest against their network’s sponsorship of Hopkins, who was already famous for making divisive, racist and inflammatory comments in Britain long before setting foot in Australia.

Caitlyn Jenner is in Sydney for Seven’s Big Brother.

Even as the tributes and accolades flowed for the irascible but disarmingly endearing TV boss David Leckie following his death early on Tuesday morning, one bridge remained in a state of disrepair: his one-time friendship with billionaire James Packer.

James Packer and David Leckie face off in 2009.Credit:AFR News.

But it was during the birthday celebrations of another Australian television powerbroker, the late Sam Chisholm in 2009 at the Sydney Opera House, when the bad blood between Packer and Leckie erupted in full public view.

Packer told Leckie to “f--k off!“, his booming voice causing the VIP-packed room to momentarily fall silent.

Skye and David Leckie, then CEO of Channel Seven, at the opening of The Star in 2011.Credit:Andrew Quilty.