NRL legend Paul Vautin has revealed he was kicked off the set of Tina Turner’s promotional video for being ‘too fat and hairy’
- The players are called with the video
- Told to show up at the beach in their speedos
- Fatty gets the call, but immediately hangs up
The rugby league community is celebrating the life of Tina Turner this week after her passing but endless replays of the ‘(Simply) The Best’ NRL promo have dredged up terrible memories for a footy legend.
When Turner traveled to Australia to record promotional material for the footy campaign, the players were called upon to provide muscle for the content.
Iconic photos of legends like Andrew Ettingshausen and Wayne ‘Junior’ Pearce showing off their rigs on the beach with Turner have become popular again.
However, the experience was not as memorable for Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin who infamously kicked off the set of the American director.
While Vautin doesn’t fit the archetypal mold as an NRL player, he has a heart the size of Manly and is the supreme power for his beloved Sea Eagles.
Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin was hooked from the set of the promotional video for being so fat and hairy
Turner would return to Australia in 1993 to perform his hit song at the NRL grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and St George Dragons
Turner worked with many NRL stars including Andrew Ettingshausen who became one of the faces of the campaign
So when Tina Turner needed footy muscle, she was one of the players who got the call.
‘So, they called me, they were saying ‘We need you to come to Maroubra beach, we’re going to shoot this advert with Tina Turner,’ he recalled on Channel Nine’s NRL commentary on Thursday night.
I said ‘Sweet, no worries,’ ‘And bring some sluggos’ [Speedos]. I said ‘Well, that would be dangerous.
‘So I turned around and there I was and they put me in between Wayne Pearce and Andrew Ettingshausen and the sluggos and it’s fair to say I had a pretty big off-season.
‘So anyway, we made it run on the beach about five times so they said, ‘Okay, let’s take a break,’ and I [draws gasping breath] was taking a break and I heard the American director, and he said to someone, I don’t know who, he said ‘Hey man, who’s the fat, hairy guy in the middle?
‘And the bloke said, ‘Well, that’s Paul Vautin, he’s the Manly captain and blah, blah, blah,’ and he said ‘Well man, take him out of my shot.’ So they kissed me. Basiled. I can not believe.’
It was a shocking moment for Vautin who was scrubbed from all footage and never appeared in the famous campaign that would propel rugby league to new heights in Australia.
‘And look what you’ve become since then,’ replied host James Bracey.
‘Still fat and hairy,’ replied Vautin.
