{"id":879802,"date":"2026-09-04T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879802\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T14:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:36:11","slug":"comedians-offensive-mock-welcome-to-country-at-far-right-rally-gets-rerun-in-the-daily-mail-caitlin-cassidy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879802\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedian\u2019s offensive mock Welcome to Country at far-right rally gets rerun in the Daily Mail | Caitlin Cassidy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend\u2019s March for Australia rally drew significantly less media attention than the previous anti-immigration protests<\/a> under its banner, when politicians including Pauline Hanson and Bob Katter were speakers.<\/p>\n

Organisers pivoted from campaigning against \u201cmass immigration\u201d to arguments over \u201cfree speech\u201d \u2013 including calling for the ban of the White Australia party<\/a>, formerly the National Socialist Network (NSN), to be overturned. March for Australia\u2019s ties to white nationalist ideas have been widely reported, including in an ABC investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This time, organisers\u2019 support for neo-Nazis was more blatant. The neo-Nazi activist Thomas Sewell was described on its social media page as a \u201cpolitical prisoner\u201d, and dozens of NSN members<\/a> were reportedly in attendance. News24, which last year ran columns describing the protests as a \u201cshow of defiance\u201d<\/a> from people with \u201cgenuine concerns\u201d who \u201cdeserve to be heard\u201d<\/a>, fell mute.<\/p>\n

One outlet that did give the protesters a run was the Daily Mail. Its report<\/a> described \u201cdeplorable scenes\u201d in Melbourne, but quoted in full an offensive mock Welcome to Country delivered by the controversial comedian Lisa Jane Spencer \u2013 and embedded a video of her speech, despite saying she \u201ccruelly mocks Aboriginal culture\u201d. The article was uploaded to the Daily Mail\u2019s Facebook page, attracting hundreds of comments, many supportive of the protest, before the post was deleted.<\/p>\n

Spencer, who received widespread criticism earlier this year for a satirical video in which she depicted a fictional Aboriginal character, \u201cAunty Lisa\u201d, sniffing petrol, has only relatively recently made a name for herself as a darling of the right. Before becoming a comedian, she was a musician performing under the name Aeora, receiving a number of plays on Triple J unearthed<\/a>, and had a stint attempting to make it as a Byron Bay content creator before pivoting to satire.<\/p>\n

In 2017 she told oneofone<\/a>, a charity championing women and non-binary people in music, that the industry still had a \u201cheap\u201d of privilege. \u201cI acknowledge I\u2019m a white cis straight female \u2026 But the industry is still not representative of trans people, queer people, people of colour,\u201d she said. Interesting, given a month ago, she depicted herself in a joke video as a Muslim woman running an NDIS scam.<\/p>\n

Subscribers turn on Kyle<\/p>\n

Has Kyle Sandilands<\/a> finally gone too far even for his loyal fans? Monday\u2019s episode of his new-ish program forced viewers to endure a 15-minute tirade in which he berated staff for technical issues with the show.<\/p>\n

The bulk of his anger was directed towards his executive producer, Jaimee \u201cMayo\u201d Blazquez, which some viewers compared to the treatment of his former co-host, Jackie \u201cO\u201d Henderson<\/a>, during the on-air spat that led to their program\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to have a fun mood and you fucked me off, by being a wishy-washy that\u2019s got no clue what\u2019s going on,\u201d he told Blazquez. \u201cAre people demented around here? Is there a retardation going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribers to Kyle Sandilands Live have left dozens of angry comments in the app\u2019s internal community forum over his treatment of staff. Composite: AAP<\/p>\n

When his co-host, Mary Madigan, attempted to intervene, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t give a fuck what you think, or what Mayo thinks,\u201d before insulting both her and Blazquez for their physical appearance.<\/p>\n

Subscribers to Kyle Sandilands Live, who pay an annual fee of $99, left dozens of angry comments in the app\u2019s internal community forum, with one accusing Sandilands of continually \u201cattacking\u201d and \u201cdegrading\u201d Blazquez to the point it felt \u201cvery abusive\u201d, and others declaring they would cease watching altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour habit of rapidly switching between verbal degradation and sudden affection is a textbook example of emotional manipulation and narcissistic grandiosity,\u201d one subscriber wrote in the forum, while another alleged the \u201cverbal spray\u201d was \u201cdisgustingly similar\u201d to the incident with Henderson.<\/p>\n

Then there were some broader concerns, including the level of \u201csex talk, gay jokes and talk about how much money Kyle has\u201d in the four-hour episodes. There was also a simple irk. \u201cReally over Kyle burping all the time,\u201d a disappointed subscriber wrote. \u201cWhat\u2019s next, farting on air?\u201d Since he has also been smoking on air, perhaps it\u2019s only a matter of time.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Sandilands said he was off sick and unable to comment.<\/p>\n

What in the AI?<\/p>\n

On 16 September 1956, Bruce Gyngell uttered the famous words: \u201cGood evening, and welcome to television.\u201d Flash forward to 2026 and much has changed, including, apparently, the requirement for humans in broadcasting.<\/p>\n

This week Channel Nine released a promotional video<\/a> for its upcoming two-part series 70 Years of Television, which was generated using artificial intelligence. The 40-second video uses AI actors to depict the first moments of TV, to keep down high production costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat in the AI?\u201d one user commented, while another lamented: \u201cI wish actors and sets and designers and cameras and lighting still existed so we wouldn\u2019t have this awful AI slop.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series, to begin airing next week, will feature actual people, including Hamish Blake, Julia Morris, Tracy Grimshaw, David Koch, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Patti Newton, Ray Martin, Catriona Rowntree, Sigrid Thornton and Ken Sutcliffe.<\/p>\n

Nine declined to comment on the record.<\/p>\n

A fight with punches pulled<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been on News24\u2019s Facebook page lately, you would have been greeted with a banner proclaiming \u201cThe fight for the right\u201d, with smiling images of Angus Taylor and Pauline Hanson<\/a>. \u201cSo Sky is openly campaigning for both right wing parties now?\u201d one commenter asked. Not exactly.<\/p>\n

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Composite: News24<\/p>\n

The banner is promoting a documentary by Chris Kenny, investigating who will win the battle for rightwing voters. Kenny appeared to have unfettered access to One Nation, including a lengthy sit-down with Hanson and the new MP for Farrer, David Farley. This, of course, while Guardian Australia and the ABC have been banned from her press conferences.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now people are dismayed by the major parties,\u201d Kenny opened. \u201cThey\u2019ve been let down by pandemic overreach, net zero and energy zealotry, record immigration and a cost-of-living crunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hour went along in a similar vein, with hard-ball questions to Hanson such as \u201cyou\u2019ve been abused, you\u2019ve been mocked, yet you keep going \u2026 why?\u201d and, \u201care you still lonely?\u201d The testiest moment came when Kenny quizzed Hanson on whether she would admit her 1990s comments about Australia being \u201cswamped by Asians\u201d were wrong. \u201cIf you were wrong about the migrants back then, you could be wrong about the migrants now,\u201d he mused.<\/p>\n

The ABC has apologised to Barnaby Joyce\u2019s wife, Vikki Campion, after posting a video<\/a> to social media from its Australian Story program on the fallout from the pair\u2019s affair and her postpartum depression, which received hundreds of comments before they were disabled.<\/p>\n

The video, uploaded on 25 August, came with a warning that the story discussed suicide and self harm, and included links to help services. But it was open slather in the comment section.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the sensitive nature of the content comments on the post should have been disabled and we regret that this was not done,\u201d the ABC said on Thursday. \u201cWe sincerely apologise to Ms Campion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In July, Campion banned the ABC\u2019s 7.30<\/a> from visiting the couple\u2019s property after accusing the public broadcaster of questioning whether their dog, Stella, was indeed barking during a viral live interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Wait until you see our Tim Curry video\u2019<\/p>\n

Perhaps politicians should be subject to their own social media ban, for the sake of our sanity. Elected representatives covered themselves in glory this week, first with Ooshies, and then with a deeply cringe homage to Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n

The minister for communications, Anika Wells, thought the frenzy for Woolworths\u2019 collectables would be the perfect analogy to explain housing supply and demand, posting a video<\/a> to social media in which she compared housing investors to Ooshie collectors. Why she had dozens of Ooshies at hand was unclear, but the conservative thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs was quick to respond, claiming the \u201cNational Ooshie Accord\u201d had failed.<\/p>\n

Even less slick was the Queensland LNP\u2019s attempt to cover Parton\u2019s 9 to 5 in a hastily deleted video that featured out-of-tune MPs, including the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, awkwardly bopping and sheepishly grinning at the camera.<\/p>\n

The video<\/a>, posted by the first-term MP Ariana Doolan, was described by The Australian<\/a> as \u201cone of the most egregious, self promoting, cringe-worthy social media stunts in recent memory\u201d. Her response?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our bid to honour Dolly I must admit I think we may have actually butchered a great song, and we forgot the auto-tune, and it\u2019s fair to say I hold some deep post regret. You wait until you see our Tim Curry video.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope there are no pressing policy issues in Queensland to delay work on that.<\/p>\n