Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has made an awkward gaffe while tweeting announcing a state memorial service for Olivia Newton-John who misspelled her name.
The iconic Australian singer, who starred in the hit musical Grease, died on Monday at the age of 73 at her home in Southern California after a long battle with breast cancer.
Ms Newton-John’s death prompted an outpouring of condolences from celebrities and fans around the world and prompted Mr Andrews to offer his family a state memorial service for the star.
“I am very pleased that the family of Olivia Newton-John have accepted our offer of a state memorial service,” Mr Andrews’ official account tweeted.
The typo, which added an extra ‘w’ to ‘Newton’, was quickly pointed out by supporters who accused the Prime Minister of making the service about himself rather than honoring Mrs Newton-John .
“It’s Newton NOT Newtown. For the amount we pay for your PR team they could get the spelling right,” one person wrote.
“Her name was Olivia NEWTON John. You are an absolute disgrace,” posted another.
Several Twitter users claimed the error was disrespectful because it allegedly showed a lack of attention to detail.
“At least have the respect to spell his name correctly,” wrote one.
“Olivia Newton-John. Respectfully Premier, mind the correct spelling,” advised another.
And: “You can’t even get his name right. So much respect.”
Earlier, Mr Andrews said he spoke to Mrs Newton-John’s niece, former Neighbors star Tottie Goldsmith, to discuss the plans.
“I can update that I spoke to Tottie Goldsmith this morning and she, on behalf of the family, has accepted my offer of a state service,” he said.
“This will be much more of a concert than a funeral, I think it will be a celebration of such a rich and generous life.
“As I said the other day, Olivia Newton-John was a very special person and to take her cancer journey and turn that into more research, better treatment, better care and that focus on wellness, it’s such a legacy amazing and that’s why I think we all feel the pain of his passing.”
Andrews said the family was moved by the outpouring of grief from the Australian public following Newton-John’s death.
“There will be more discussions, those discussions started today, but there will be more discussions in my department and in the family about what is appropriate,” he said.
“I think giving Melburnians and Victorians and indeed people who travel from other parts of the country and maybe even the world to be here to celebrate such an important, rich and generous life, that was the right thing to do.” .
“And I have to say it’s very clear to me that the family were quite touched by the prospect of Victorians coming together and celebrating Olivia’s life.”
The British-born actor and singer, who moved to Melbourne at the age of six, identified as Australian and became a staunch supporter of cancer research.
Her family will hold a private funeral for Ms Newton-John in the United States, where she has lived for decades.
She is survived by husband John Easterling and daughter Chloe Lattanzi.