Melbourne man becomes online star after refusing to stop BBQing in lockdown

The man refused to acknowledge the lockdown as he cooked his snags. Photo / 7 news

A stubborn Melbourne resident has become an online hit after he refused to let the lockdown stop him from barbecuing.

The unknown man was filmed by a Seven News reporter on Valentine's Day browning some snags and onions on the banks of the Yarra River.

"Did you realise there's a lockdown?" a reporter asked the man, holding out a microphone on an extended pole.

"Mmm, can't wait for some of these snags, this is gonna be good as," the man said, dodging the question. He then whacked at the reporter's microphone, and sent it flying away behind him.

The moment was shared on TikTok by popular page aussmemes101, where it quickly went viral – racking up more than 1.6 million views and 243,000 likes.

"You can't interrupt us Aussies when we're cooking snags," one woman commented on the video.

"Never annoy a man cooking snags," another man agreed.

"Just leave him alone," another user wrote.

"The microphone was not social distancing from his snags," a third user wrote.

This dude says no thanks to Victoria’s lockdown.

Journo: “Did you realise there's a lockdown?” pic.twitter.com/GiMzguDmR8

— Keira Savage (@KeiraSavage00) February 15, 2021

"Ha, he's 110 per cent Aussie," another commented, with frustrated hot breath emojis.

"The microphone was not social distancing from his snags," another commented.

"I don't agree with him ignoring the lockdown but this response was legendary," another woman said.

The unnamed man punches the reporter's microphone away. Photo / 7 News

Victoria is currently on the fourth of its five-day snap lockdowns, which Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said will act as a "circuit breaker" to stop coronavirus spreading through the state.

Victorians are not allowed to leave their homes except for essential reasons – to shop, to offer care and caregiving, to exercise and for work.

The lockdown began at 11.59pm on February 12, and is currently expected to conclude at midnight on Wednesday.

The state recorded two new locally acquired cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.