Archbishop Makarios of Australia issued a ‘statement of disapprobation’ on Saturday, 4 March in response to a joke about Jesus Christ made by comedian Reuben Kaye on Channel Ten‘s program The Project last Tuesday.
While speaking about receiving online abuse “from a religious angle” towards the tail end of his appearance on the program; Kaye said he thinks “it’s hilarious when someone messages me and says, ‘you have to accept Jesus’ love, or you will burn in hell’.”
“Because I love Jesus. I love any man who can get nailed for three days’ straight and come back for more,” the comedian said delivering the joke’s punchline.
The archbishop’s response on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia expressed “profound discontent.”
Denouncing “the extremely distasteful and rather deplorable content aired on The Project (…) relating to Jesus Christ and the contemptuous derision of His suffering and crucifixion on the Cross.”
Archbishop Makarios said it was “equally inappropriate” that “such suggestive and disparaging remarks of a sexual nature were aired at a time in the early evening (…) when children were more than likely to be viewing such material.”
“At a time when all people seek equal rights and justice—and do so rightly—it is equally important to be reminded of our common responsibilities, our common efforts and goals, as one human race, which are far more congruous than are our differences,” the statement continued.
The archbishop made clear that “Everyone is free to believe in Christ or not,” but asserted that “no one has the right to disparage the Christian God, Christian teaching and sacred symbols – or in fact those of any other religious faith.”
Stating that “it is incumbent upon all of us to foster a culture of peace and solidarity, creating bridges and opportunities for dialogue; promoting ways in which all people can have the right to exercise their religious beliefs in a spirit of amity and fraternity without fear of violence or ridicule.”
“Anything less can only be a negation of our human dignity, nobility and mutual self-respect,” he concluded.
Backlash to the poorly received bit prompted an apology from The Project hosts Sarah Harris and Waleed Aly on the following day’s program.
“During an interview last night our guest told a joke which we know as deeply and needlessly offensive to many of you,” Aly said.
He continued, “we want to acknowledge the particular offense and hurt that that caused our Muslim but especially our Christian viewers, obviously I understand just how profound that offence was.”
Harris clarified that “live TV is unpredictable, and when this happened in the last few moments of last night’s show, it genuinely took us all by surprise and there wasn’t a lot of time to react in any sort of considered way.”
Aly assured viewers that no offence was intended, explaining “it’s fair to say we weren’t expecting a comment like that to be made, we wouldn’t knowingly broadcast it of course.”
“We acknowledge the offence that it caused, but more than that we’re sorry.” Harris adding, they were “very sorry.”
Community reactions to the interview and on-air gaffe have been mixed, with many taking to social media to condemn the fact the joke was allowed to make broadcast, while others praised the comedian’s actions.
Both The Project and Reuben Kaye’s social media accounts have been inundated with comments regarding the episode.
Social media users’ ability to comment on the comedian’s Facebook and Instagram pages have since been limited.
