Dan Andrews breaks his silence in fiery foul-mouthed outburst at his critics – and reveals what he REALLY thinks about his ‘Dictator’ nickname

Daniel Andrews has hit back at his opponents and said he was never bothered by being called a “dictator” when he was Premier of Victoria.

Mr Andrews said he didn’t care what people thought of him and said he had dealt with a lot of “unpleasant staff” during his time as Victorian leader.

He pulled no punches in his blistering response to critics, calling it “after dark nonsense”, referring to Sky News Australia’s evening opinion-based political shows.

And he insisted he wanted to be remembered as a strong, determined man who “got shit done” by making big, difficult calls – even if they were unpopular.

“Dictator and all that, it’s okay if people feel better describing me with those words… good luck,” he told the Social Democratic Party podcast.

Daniel Andrews (pictured) has hit out at some of his fiercest opponents.

The former Victorian leader, who stepped down in September after nine years in the top job, said people were entitled to their opinions but it had had no impact on how he led the state.

“You know, in Victoria, haters hate and the rest of us vote Labor. And that suits me.”

“They can call me whatever they want, but the main thing is not this nonsense, this noise, this vitriol, these after-dark bulls***.”

“What’s really important and makes up for all this nonsense is when you sit down as families… and listen and say, ‘Okay, this is the plan. We’re going to step up and do it.” And then you will do it… and you will see the difference.”

Mr Andrews has been nicknamed “Dictator Dan” due to Victoria’s repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, which have continued for nearly two years since the pandemic began in 2020.

“There were some nasty things, some ugly things, but… that’s life.”

The retired politician has truly tested his leadership, and it has given his fiercest opponents the spark they need to go after him.

He said the tough calls he made repeatedly to shut down Victoria had helped him steer the state through one of the most turbulent periods in its history.

“We made a lot of difficult decisions, we weren’t looking for popularity, we were looking to do the right thing,” he said.

Mr Andrews, who held 120 consecutive press conferences during the second stage of lockdown, said the penultimate press conference was difficult to tell Victorians the lockdown would not be lifted.

“Everyone came to the press conference and there was a real sense of anticipation for the end of quarantine,” he said.

Victoria spent two years in lockdown after Andrews repeatedly had to shut down the state, fueling fire among critics of his leadership (pictured at Melbourne’s Flinders Street station).

Mr Andrews admitted the lockdown announcement was one of the most difficult decisions he had to make as state leader (pictured at Bourke Street Shopping Centre, Melbourne).

“There was just a sense of despondency… it was an extremely difficult time and you knew that the decisions you made had… profound consequences for people.”

Mr Andrews resigned as state leader after calling an extraordinary press conference to announce his departure, admitting the constant demands of the job had taken their toll.

Just two months earlier, he pulled out of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, citing significant cost increases after planning to fund them to the tune of $2.6 billion.