THE 9th ANNUAL MAXIM AUSTRALIA/NZ AWARDS
EPIC FAIL OF THE YEAR
THE RUBY PRINCESS
The decision to allow the cruise ship Ruby Princess to disembark 2,700 passengers in Sydney despite many of them, and some crew, showing symptoms of coronavirus, will haunt Australians for years to come. At least 12 deaths and more than 700 cases of coronavirus in Australia have been linked to this incident, which is the second worst outbreak after Victoria’s second wave. Much like her affair with Daryl Maguire, Gladys Berejiklian successfully shirked most of the responsibility for the deadly decision made by an agency under her command.
RUNNER-UP 1 VICTORIA’S SECOND WAVE
Just as Australians thought the worst of the pandemic had passed, Victorians were plunged into some of the strictest lockdowns in the world following the outbreak of a deadly second wave last July. By August 5, Victoria recorded 725 new cases in a single day – the highest in Australia since the start of the pandemic. The result of a bungled hotel quarantine program, which involved external contractors and security guards having sex with quarantined returnees, the wave led to an official inquiry and resulted in hundreds of deaths.
RUNNER-UP 2 THE FOUR SEASONS PRESS CONFERENCE
When the Trump team booked a location for a press conference in Philadelphia a few days after the election, many reckon they thought they were getting the Four Seasons Hotel, which is near a vote counting centre. Unfortunately, they’d actually booked the carpark of the similar-sounding Four Seasons Total Landscaping business, five blocks away from the aforementioned hotel. Cue Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani standing at the lectern talking about election fraud in the venue’s carpark which is between a crematorium and dildo shop. Perhaps a fitting send off for the Trump Presidency?
RUNNER-UP 3 THE COVID SAFE APP
Once a point of pride as a symbol of Australia’s coronavirus safety measures, the government’s COVIDSafe app made us an international laughing stock. Supposedly an effective contract tracing tool utilising simple smartphone technology, the app is outdated and, according to some authorities, doesn’t really work all that well. Tellingly, PM ScoMo has since gone quiet on the subject after initially spruiking the app non-stop during the April rollout.
RUNNER-UP 4 NOVAK DJOKOVIC HITS LINESWOMAN WITH BALL
Despite being arguably the greatest tennis player of the Open era, Novak has struggled with low popularity among tennis fans for years. It didn’t help when he accidentally smashed a ball straight into a linesperson’s throat during the 2020 U.S. Open. As a result of the mishap, Novak was disqualified from the tournament and got a beating on social media. Between this and starting a COVID outbreak with his ill-planned Adria Tour, the Serb had a rough year.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
DELTA GOODREM
The nine-time ARIA award winner has had a busy 12 months including gracing the cover of our November issue as she topped the 2020 Ultra Tune MAXIM HOT 100. She also continued her mentoring duties on The Voice, wowed international audiences with her performance at the One World: Together At Home global concert, launched The Delta Goodrem Foundation to raise funds for blood cancer research and even dropped her first-ever Christmas album, Only Santa Knows, which saw her receive her very own Christmas TV special to celebrate. Whatta woman.
RUNNER-UP 1 KAMALA HARRIS
As Vice President elect, Kamala Harris made history on January 20, 2021 by becoming the first ever female Vice President of the United States. A former California Attorney General and current Senator, she will also become the first African American and Asian American VP. After the misogyny-tinged led White House of the past four years, Kamala is smashing a glass ceiling and is a pleasant reminder that sometimes America can get it right. What’s more,
