Corey ‘Wa Wa’ Worthington Delaney — villified by the media, then courted, then villified again — and all in 80 hours.
Updating yesterday’s story, Crikey tracks Corey as a star is born, then goes to Frankston beach, flees an FM radio station via the fire escape, stitches up a magazine deal and is then taken into police custody. Presumably this will make it easier for star’s parents to track him down:
8pm Saturday night, Narre Warren: Corey Delaney throws a house party while his parents holiday on the Gold Coast. After sending the following invite out on MySpace and Facebook:
Oh yea party at Mine Saturday 12th Jan.
BYO chicks and grog
No knives, rents will cracK it at me
Corey is surprised to find that roughly 500 people turn up to the house and spill out on to Galloway Drive. The party becomes the stuff of urban legend – police turn up, bottles are thrown, windows are broken, neighbours are scared, helicopter hovers.
Sunday, 7am: Reports start to trickle in on Melbourne radio about a party gone wild:
GOLD FM 104.3 (Melbourne)
07:00 News (Weekend) – 13/01/2008 – 07:02 AMPolice have called in back-up, including the Air Wing and Dog Squad, after a house party at Narre Warren South attended by up to 500 teenagers got out of control. Most had been drinking.
Sunday, 6pm: Channel Nine News introduces Corey Worthington Delaney to the world. It’s on.
Monday, 9am: The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun set upon Corey like hungry wolverines. Victorian Police Commissioner Christine Nixon and Acting Premier Rob Hulls later make statements.
1pm: Facebook group “Corey Delaney is a deadset legend” is created.
6pm: Channel Seven news airs interview with Corey’s parents on the Gold Coast.
6.30pm: Corey spruiks his party throwing abilities during an interview on A Current Affair. His advice to kids considering throwing a party: “Get me to do if for you.”
Tuesday, 10am: Crikey joins the fray with editorial decision for follow-up story about Corey.
10.30am: Talkback lights up with Corey-inspired indignation and a flood of parenting tips:
– 3AW (Melbourne)
Caller Chris says that people should show 16 yo Corey some grace, as well as the media and Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon, as condemning him will just make the situation worse with teens.
– 3AW (Melbourne)
Caller Phil says there was a report on the news that Corey was charging $5 to get in to his party. Caller Phil says if he did that then there are a lot of council regulations that he broke. Mitchell says the more important law broken was the kids attacking police cars. Caller Phil thinks that if Corey is not punished then these types of parties will continue to spiral out of control.
– 3AW
Caller Sue says Corey, young party host, might be gay as no girls have been mentioned in regard to the party. Sue says she feels sorry for Corey.
– 2GB (Sydney)
Ray HadleyCaller, Irene, says [Corey Delaney] needs a lecture. Hadley says when he was younger a few clips around the ear put him in the right direction. Hadley says if Delaney works somewhere like Subway or McDonald’s they should deduct his pay to pay the damages.
– 4BC (Brisbane)
Caller Morrie says he wants to blame John Howard for the whole thing, and the reason children have no discipline now is that they are brought up in childcare centre because it is necessary for their mothers to work. Morrie says that with penalty rates no longer worth as much as they used to and taxes increasing, one wage is no longer enough for a family to live on.
– 4BC (Brisbane)
Caller Michelle says she would ‘flog the living cr*p out of him’. Caller Ron says he should be ‘stuck in boot camp for six months’. Caller Graham thinks Corey should be fined a large amount. Caller Tony says he would shove Corey’s sunglasses ‘where the sun don’t shine’.
And so forth.
11am: The Corey story hits the UK press, with stories on The Guardian and the BBC.
1.15pm: The media reports that Corey has gone into hiding.
3.36 pm: Crikey eyewitness account on Frankston station, care of Neil Walker: Corey Delaney seen at Frankston train station with a couple of mates. Stripped to the waist, he is wearing his famous glasses and hat with nipple ring on display. Since he is showing no sign of being “in hiding” [as reported in evening by Channel 7’s Today Tonight] he is quickly mini-mobbed [well, Corey is very short] with shouts of “Corey! You’re a legend!”. Much high fiving ensues before he heads off, walking past a police station with a mini-entourage in tow. Mini-entourage in numbers. Some of his newfound fans are tall, unlike Corey. [Later that evening Today Tonight reports “Corey, with his pierced nipples and peroxide hair is now the party planner ON THE RUN from his parents and the police”]
4pm: Corey may have picked up a copy of train-mag MX, with his face splashed all over the front page. Inside, MX gives Corey fashion tips and talks to a child psychologist.
4.30pm: Corey hits CNN.
6.30pm: Mr and Mrs Delaney appear on Today Tonight. “They fear their son’s ego is out of control.”
6.30pm: A Current Affair travels to Frankston beach to interview Corey near a petrol station.
1.30 am this morning: Corey expresses appreciation for his Facebook group (props to Defamer Oz) –
Corey Worthington Delaney wrote at 1:20am
:take it:BREAKIT ^luvin dis sh-t^
Ur all Tha GOOD type !!!~~~
Every1 HiT up tha ||C-nut||Fkn (maKe) me a groUp Offica!
Sik.
8.30 am: Corey arrives at FOX FM station in Melbourne to be interviewed by breakfast hosts Jo and Matt. A media scrum is waiting for him. The Age and Channel Seven report that Corey flees the studios, bolting down the fire escape, when host Matt Tilley attempts to “remove his plastic yellow sunglasses.” After being chased by several news camera operators and a radio producer, Corey disappears but later returns to the studio to complete the interview.
Davis, who lives near Corey, calls in to say that Corey is “a peanut” for what he did and should have more respect for his neighbours. Caller Davis says Corey looks like a piece of crap. “I live close to you and wouldn’t mind coming down and giving you a slap.” Hosts cut Davis off. Another caller who lives on Galloway drive threatens Corey. It turns nasty. “The next time I see you in your V8 commodore you better watch out.”
9.16am: The Daily Telegraph runs Anita Quigley’s column: Party monster Corey Delaney belongs in a cage.
10.06am: As Corey fields offers from celebrity agent Max Markson to represent him (Markson pledges that he could get Corey $50,00 – $60,000 and a trip to the US) and Zoo Magazine among others, the media sets about cannibalising itself.
Faine speaks with Channel Seven’s Steve Carey in the studio as part of the regular Media conversation hour. Carey defends the decision to interview Corey’s parents. A spokesperson from Channel Nine gets on air to defend his decision to drive Corey to Channel Nine studios to be interviewed by ACA‘s Leila McKinnon . Carey argues that Channel Seven took the story further by interviewing the parents and that Channel Nine were irresponsible by courting Corey. Heated words are exchanged as Corey officially becomes the Wa Wa of 2008.
11.15am: Neil Mitchell reports on 3AW that Corey Worthington Delaney has been taken into police custody. The Daily Telegraph reports that Victorian Police have confirmed that the “puffed-up teen party pest” has been arrested and is being held in custody. Not quite right. In fact, at this stage no charges have been laid.
12pm: Corey’s police station visit makes item 2 on the 12pm ABC news bulletin.
It’s a meta story for sure. The kid has flair but totally uneven bout. It’s likely to become child abuse no matter how sharp or brave he sounds now. Sooo Big Media flakes need the shallow. That’s the real story. Serious bad, shallow OK, in fact crucial.
You would think it would be very hard for a drop-kick 16-year-old with attitude and ridiculous sunglasses to make a seasoned journalist look even sillier than him, but Corey Worthington managed to do it with ACA’s Leila McKinnon.
The more a puffed up Leila began to take on the persona of an outraged parent, the more I cheered for the insouciant Corey. His response to the question about what he would advise other 16-year-olds to do — “Get me to organise your party” was the best response to a tabloid TV question I’ve heard in a long time. No wonder it’s ended up on Youtube.
The adults involved in this saga, including the media and the Police Commissioner, all seem to be making the classic mistake first chronicled in the movie Rebel Without A Cause — the more they publicly criticise dopey Corey and give him a profile, the more his own generation thinks he’s cool!
I’d like to give his parents some advice about what to say to him (in private) but I can’t think of anything.
It is starting to get wearisome isn’t it? When it comes to the end of the fiasco it has to be the poor residents of the surrounding area who should get the sympathy vote. 500 revved up teenagers going crazy in your street? Nope, no fun thanks
How did Rod get to make such a long comment? It was interesting, but most of us get cut off after only
What role alcohol industry, ditto at the tennis? Underage? Late night trading hours as a bad example? Who sold/gave em the piss? The drug society in denial.