Hugh Jackman and longtime friend and fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds completed a celebratory “shoey” earlier this month, but fans have speculated it was fake, with some even calling it “un-Australian”.
The Aussie tradition involves pouring a beer into a worn shoe and drinking it, and keen-eyed fans spotted a tiny detail in Hugh’s video that prompted speculation online.
During an interview with Sunrise reporter Mylee Hogan, the actor was asked whether it was a real shoe.
“No, it was not, it was like a ceramic shoe,” he admitted.
“It’s confirmed. You were right, Mylee. We can put this one to bed. I am a fraud.
“It was a ceramic, well-washed, nice-smelling shoe.”
Hugh said it had been about 35 years since his last shoey, with the Sunrise reporter suggesting he needs to go back to the pub and redo it.
The actor agreed, on the condition that the Channel 7 reporter did it with him so that they could trade shoes.
The Sunrise hosts in the studio were appalled at the act, saying that a shoey didn’t count if the footwear wasn’t slightly worn in.
“You’ve got to do it out of a worn shoe. You can’t do it out of a fake ceramic shoe. It kind of defeats the purpose. Might as well have a mug,” Sunrise host Matt Shirvington said.
Fellow co-host Monique Wright jokingly said that Hugh’s admission was an “incident of international proportions”.
Other Australian celebrities have also weighed in, with Shirvington asking Robert Irwin whether the act was “unAustralian”.
“It’s Hugh Jackman we’re talking about,” he replied.
“He is an absolute legend. I would do a shoey right now, except I don’t have any shoes on. But it’s okay. He gets a pass.”
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