Julia Morris says she lost work following her controversial #MeToo performance at the Logies last month.
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Viewers had accused the I'm a Celebrity host of "trivialising" sexual assault, after she referenced the #MeToo movement in a lighthearted dance number set to MC Hammer's U Can't Touch This.
The moment was tagged alongside Bert Newton's closed-door "mentoring" gag as evidence of the Logies’ tone-deafness regarding the industry's wider pushback against sexual harassment.
Julia Morris at the 2018 Logie Awards on the Gold Coast.
"I did lose a gig because of it," Morris, 50, says of the backlash.
"I had been asked to come and host a mental health lunch and I got a note from the CEO of the charity saying would I 'clarify my position on sexual assault', as a pre-emptive strike in case anybody complains about me on the day of the function.
"It was two days after it happened. I sent them back an email saying, 'I think it's best that you move forward with the function with someone else.'"
Morris says she "absolutely did not" feel like she had to publicly clarify her intent with the skit.
"There was no way… No thanks. It's like if you didn't get it, I can't help you," she says.
"It's like, uh, I wonder what my position on sexual assault and the #MeToo movement would be, being a woman who's worked in this business for 35 years. I wonder what my position would be, idiot."
The comedian says she second-guesses what she says "for fear of the flaming".
"Everybody's scared, no one knows what to say anymore… It's a straining time to be in television."
Morris’ #MeToo reference at the Logies irked some viewers.
Ironically, Morris saw herself go viral in the UK this week, with viewers praising her forthright and wacky hosting gig on Ten's I'm a Celebrity, which is currently airing in Britain.
A supercut of Morris' best moments on the local series has been widely shared in the UK, and viewed over two million times.
Appreciative viewers even launched a campaign to have the Aussie comedian host the British version of the reality hit, as veteran host Ant McPartlin – of duo Ant and Dec, who have headed the ITV series since 2002 – sits out the season to recover from depression, alcohol addiction and substance abuse.
The UK version of the show is conveniently shot in Springbrook National Park in Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland.
"I was on my way to bed last night and my phone was blowing up from all my friends in the UK going, 'Have you seen this?' I don't know what's happened, when did I get popular?" Morris laughs.
"They're all like, 'We need her in the UK!' I'm like, that's hilarious, I was only there for eight years and nothing happened!"
Morris, who told ITV's Good Morning Britain she'd "take the job in a heartbeat", said she wasn't looking at another tilt in the UK just yet.
"I've got too much work on the go to consider any sort of move," she says. "And also, I think it's just an internet thing at the moment. It's really more of a compliment than an offer!
"It's not like I've been formally approached, let's put it that way. It's not really anything until the money is in your account and you've done the deal… I just love that anyone there even remembers me, I think that's amazing."
Morris will host Ten's new dating show Blind Date later this year, and will return as host of I'm a Celebrity Australia in 2019.
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