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Audience reacts to bizarre Barnaby interview

Viewers react to 'poor white people' answer by the former PM desperate to flog a new book.

You could hear the studio audience reeling last night after The Weekly with Charlie Pickering asked former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce why he was writing a book.

“The book is not a memoir about me, it’s a memoir about trying to look after people who in regional areas are doing it tough. People who are basically in the corner of society, basically they’re poor, in many instances they’re white, they’re opportunities are not like yours, and we’ve got to come up with policies to take them ahead.”

Although the audience responded with awkward laughs, Pickering did not pick him up on his answer.

On social media many did just that:

Did @Barnaby_Joyce just say “they’re poor, they’re white”…? If he did, what has skin colour got to do with farmers and country people? I truly hope that I mis-heard him #theweekly @theweeklytv

White? #theweekly Barnaby, why did you say white? People are just people.

Why did @Barneby just say they are poor and white??? #theweekly

I’m looking forward to Barnaby donating all his book proceeds to the ‘poor white people’ in the bush

I’m still sitting with my mouth wide open after watching Barnaby.. My wife turned off the TV and gone to bed.. That’s the most awesome funny/ bizarre interview I’ve ever seen.. #Carcrash #auspol folks you must Iview it ?

But some questioned why The Weekly had Joyce on at all:

I think every single TV channel, bar maybe SBS has helped promote Barnaby’s new book. Even #theweekly is on to it…

The gratuitous promotion of the most shallow, conniving, corrupt, womanising, pi**pot politician’s book is now complete thanks to #theweekly. Australian politics is a sewer & our media are its banks.#auspol??

Why won’t Barnaby just go away #theweekly

You should’ve had Barnaby on hard chat. At least that would’ve provided some satisfaction.

7 Responses

  1. Surely Barnaby has the right to promote his book wherever he likes and to whomever will listen. I am so over and upset by people posting political hatred on entertainment sites.

    1. It’s somewhat unavoidable where TV discusses politics. I encourage readers to stick to the TV angle, with some leeway based on what airs. Where a show puts something on the table a response is valid. I try to keep an eye on staying on topic.

  2. So the ABC now kowtows to the Govt for fear of losing more funding? Even kowtowing to a former deputy PM who was only there to flog a book no sane person buy, sad. It was very painful to watch and a stain on this show. Am sure Shaun Micalef would have not kowtowed like this. A shameful moment for the ABC.

  3. It certainly was a bizarre interview. Baahrnaby was clearly uncomfortable with some of Charlie’s cheeky questions.

    Loved the celebrity Gogglebox type segment though, and Sarah Harris’s Hard Chat was absolute gold.

  4. Why is our media giving thiis poor excuse of a human being air time to promote his stupid book? We don’t care. How much important legislation, which hurts the poorest people, did he vote on while ineligible to sit in Parliament & while drunk? He is a disgrace & unfit to be in our Parliament. He craps on about the farmers pretending to care while he is in the pocket of big miners. He is a fraud & should just go away & shut up.

    1. Actually carolemorrissey you can’t say that his TV interviews are ever boring which is certainly true of most other politicians. Love him or hate him he his still very popular in the bush (where I live) and he isn’t going to go away despite his recent infidelity.

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