Allison Langdon has opened up about the brutal reaction her husband Michael Willesee Jr received during his recent stint on the Today show, revealing the couple have learned there is one particularly effective way of dealing with online trolls: don’t go looking for them.
Willesee Jr made a rare return to television in July when Nine placed him in the Today co-hosting chair as part of its search for a new line-up following Karl Stefanovic’s departure from the network.
The appearance marked his first major on-screen presenting role in more than a decade and brought one of Australian television’s most famous surnames back to Nine.
But while some viewers welcomed the experienced journalist back to breakfast television, others were considerably less kind.
Online commenters quickly weighed in on his performance, with some branding him “dull” and “boring” after barely a day in the job.
Speaking to Kate Langbroek on the No Filter podcast, Langdon said her husband wisely chose not to read the reaction.
It is a lesson the A Current Affair host has learned herself after more than two decades in television.
Langdon said even when the overwhelming majority of comments are positive, it can be the single nasty remark that sticks in your mind.
“That is human nature… you can’t help it,” she said.
Instead, Langdon said she and her husband put more value on the opinions of people they know and trust.
“You surround yourself with people who are going to tell you when you need to pull your head in, or tell you when you haven’t done something well enough,” she said.
“If you’ve got that around you, then you don’t need to listen to that external noise.
“If you go looking down that path, you’re not going to find anything that you’re going to like.
“[It’s] just a dark, dark place.”
Langdon knows better than most how personal that criticism can become.
During her own stint hosting Today from 2020 to 2023, she once received what she described as a “ghastly” email from a woman who told her she wanted to punch her in the face.
Rather than delete it, Langdon decided to respond.
“I wrote that, ‘I’m so sorry that I offend you so much, I hope you’re okay, and I hope you have a really nice day,’” she recalled.
What happened next surprised her.
The woman wrote back apologising profusely and explained that she was going through difficulties in her own life.
“Because I had written back, that made me real,” Langdon said.
The exchange gave the veteran presenter an insight into what can sometimes sit behind anonymous online abuse – although she has since decided engaging with trolls generally isn’t worth it.
“It was a great lesson. I don’t respond to any negative things now, ever, because why put fuel on the fire?”
Willesee Jr’s Today appearance came as Nine trialled a number of presenters following Stefanovic’s departure in June. The veteran host left the network after more than two decades on Today, with Nine subsequently experimenting with different combinations on the breakfast program.
For Willesee Jr, the stint also carried the weight of a formidable family broadcasting legacy. His late father, Mike Willesee, was one of Australian television’s most celebrated journalists and interviewers, while Michael himself previously worked for Nine News, A Current Affair and Sky News.
But if the internet had strong opinions about his return to the breakfast TV couch, it appears the Willesee-Langdon household had already worked out the best response.
Sometimes, simply not reading the comments is the smartest review of all.
Images: Instagram
