0/5

John Elliott offends with Can of Worms clanger

Outspoken John Elliott shocked the Can of Worms audience on Monday night when a slip of the tongue revealed his conservative views.

Last night on TEN’s new Can of Worms, businessman John Elliott dropped a big social no-no.

Answering the question: “Should we acknowledge traditional owners at official events?”

Elliott said acknowledgment was “sheer bloody nonsense.”

“I was in St. Paul’s Cathedral the other day and there’s the Dean of the Church and all he did for the first five minutes was talk about the A**s.”

The audience immediately reacted with horror.

“Indigenous people, sorry. Not allowed to use that word.”

Guest Maude Garrett responded: “But you did.”

Elliott responded, “That’s how we were grown up and talked about them. But I know it’s changed, and I’m sorry for that.”

But the damage had been done.

Video: offending moment from 6:40 mins.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su77I3geny8[/youtube]

Dicko’s new Can of Worms, which last week had Don Burke frequently dropping the F-word, has laid claim to its uncompromising, potentially controversial television, and last night it delivered.

Elliott attempted to justify his answer to the controversial question: “I was there to attend a funeral for a friend and I just thought it was totally inappropriate.”

But the bigger question for the show produced by Zapruder’s Other Films is whether it was right to include the term in the final edit, given it had been pre-recorded.

Was it right to offend sections of the audience simply to demonstrate Elliott’s views, or to attract attention for a new programme?

Last night on Twitter the moment attracted due comment:

geeeorgiwouldz: He really said ‘A**s’ on national TV. Disgusted #canofworms

NatGrasso: Did he really said ‘A**s’ on national TV?? He’ll regret saying that in the morning #canofworms

Marsh_Paul: Oh dear John Elliott – that sort of talk should have gone out in the 80s … like you #canofwormstv

glengyron: So, the man who just called Aboriginal people ‘A**s’ was the President of the Liberal Party for 3 years…. #canofworms

emwatsford: Oh goodness me. John Elliott you ignorant old man. He probably still thinks “a**’s” (his words) should be classified as fauna and flora.

fraggle73: Ah oh John Elliott, you just tripped over the line #canofworms

dizzyizzy11: oh my god..what John Elliott is saying is making me sick

DannyADalton: @canofwormstv John Elliott likes to cloak his racism as “our generation”. If this show isn’t live then shame on ch 10 for airing his comment

Mikey_Nicholson: What is this “A**” John Elliott speaks of? I hope for his sake he was talking about Tony Abbott… #auspol

EnsignR: Yes, he’s if a different generation, but I quite like John Elliott. At the very least he’s entertaining. #canofworms #donthateme

52 Responses

  1. what you people dont understand is that the term Aboriginal was placed on us , we’d much rather be known as Kooris or Murris (depending on location).
    So you should understand the reason why a** is so offensive it is equally racist as the N word in America.

Leave a Reply