The Project faces backlash over “disgraceful” comment
The Project is facing backlash on social media after a segment saw one of the hosts mock the way a man spoke.
On Monday night, host Tommy Little introduced a sound bite of mining CEO Geogg Summers speaking in Tasmania.
“First I want you to have a look at him, right? Here’s a picture, he’s tough, I reckon he looks rich, he looks mean and he’s a miner, that’s the information we know about,” the co-host said as a photo of Mr Summers appeared on the screen.
“He’s a man’s man, talking about the mines,” guest panellist Rove McManus added in a deep voice.
“So see if this is how you were expecting him to sound,” Little said, before the clip of Mr Summers was played.
After the recording was played, Little joked that Mr Summers “sounds like the first mining minor”.
“Hey question — were they mining for helium?” McManus added.
But while their remarks were meant to be humorous, some viewers were not impressed by the segment.
Viewers took to Twitter and The Project’s Facebook page to accuse Little of “bullying”, saying that the show has “double standards”.
“Disgraceful on their behalf, they should apologise on air,” one viewer wrote.
Another said: “Did #TheProjectTV just spend 30 seconds mocking a guy for not having a masculine enough voice?”
“Why are you mocking the way that man speaks, there’s nothing he can do about it. Bunch of bullies.”
“Really poor form making fun of a person’s voice … wasn’t it only last week you were talking about bullying? Practice what you preach,” one person wrote on Facebook.
“The Project is supposed to stand for good news. The snippet of the miner where you made fun of his voice was not nice at all and you should say sorry. Very disappointing,” another commented.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.