Revealed: Footy legend Brian Taylor’s surprising link to the Fitzroy Garage Party video that fans have branded ‘cringe’ after it won TikTok clip of the year
Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor has a very surprising take on the infamous 11-second Fitzroy garage party video that sparked controversy after being named TikTok video of the year in Australia.
On Wednesday night, TikTok Australia held its big night at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, where the top prize was accepted by two of Fitzroy’s polarizing garage party acts, Andrew Davey and Jordan Menadu.
The clip shows a group of men having a ‘garage party’ in Fitzroy, Melbourne’s trendy centre.
In the video, people can be seen awkwardly dancing, making prayer signs, smoking cigarettes and even getting their hair cut in the street.
Brian Taylor (pictured with wife Tanya) owns a garage in central Melbourne, which can be seen in an award-winning viral TikTok video.
The garage featured in the popular clip is believed to belong to Seven’s traveling AFL caller Brian Taylor.
Back in February, the famous location hosted a garage sale and Taylor was there to film it.
“You may be a little familiar with this (place), obviously something has happened here in the last couple of weeks, I don’t know, Fitzroy Garage Sash or what,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.
“The guys are having a sale here today, and these are, of course, my guys.”
Not everyone is a fan of the original garage party clip, with millions of people around the world debating whether it’s “cool” or “cringe-worthy.” Others simply don’t understand why it’s so popular.
The group initially received harsh backlash for appearing “fake”, with hundreds of commenters accusing them of throwing the party for social media content rather than actual fun.
“If I saw this while walking down the street, I would turn around and take a detour,” one commenter wrote.
“Is this the first day these boys have been outside or something?” – asked another.
The TikTok of the Year award went to Andrew Davey and Jordan Menadu.
Not everyone is happy with the video, which many found “cringe-inducing.”
A third wrote: “Just describing what bullshit this is.”
“This is what a party/club looks like when you’re sober, trust me as a former bartender lol,” another commented.
Meanwhile, others mocked the group’s “hipster” appearance.
“I feel like I’m watching the origin story of several future Liberal MPs,” joked one commentator.
“In this video they just asked me if I knew Tame Impala was one of the guys,” another wrote.
One video, captioned “flawless atmosphere,” shows the band posing stiffly around a garage while assigned cameramen capture the magic.
“Still looking for those vibes,” a commenter wrote.
“Flawless is not a word I would use,” said another.
Clips of a “garage party” (above) in the trendy Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy have gone viral, but some viewers have accused partygoers of being fake.
People accused the boys (above) of being “private school students pretending to be poor”, while others said they seemed more interested in creating content for social media than partying.
However, hundreds of spectators also came to the group’s defense and said their party looked like a good time.
“Why is everyone angry at the Fitzroy garage party? I’m angry because I wasn’t invited,” one said.
“Damn I thought it looked a little lit but people say it’s not,” another wrote.
“It’s clear how much hate there is from a harmless video of people having a good time. Sad world we live in,” another person commented.
One of the guys even chimed in, saying, “Damn, this is too much, we were just chilling.”
Meanwhile, other TikTokers have recreated their own “Fitzroy garage sessions” around the world.
Sydney lawyer Jahan Kalantar explained why the Fitzroy garage phenomenon is having such an impact in a 60-second video on Saturday.
“Fitzroy is an interesting suburb of Melbourne, it’s a suburb that has traditionally had working class roots but appears to have been significantly gentrified,” he said.
“The reason the comments are so snarky is because a lot of people are saying this house party represents everything that’s wrong with house parties.
“Rich people playing at poor people – colloquially we call them ‘champagne socialists.’ People from rich suburbs who play this game when they’re poor get some kind of cake.”
He stated that the group’s “commercialization of poverty” made them go viral.
“The boys from the shore go to Newtown… like this explained it to Sydney people,” another person commented.
One of the boys continued the comments by accusing them of being “private school students pretending to be poor” and posted a video of himself singing the words “I have no money” with the caption “I honestly wish you were right ” .