If it’s Friday it must be Moral Outrage Day.
There are two stories in today’s press (ok, well one was yesterday) in which TV comedy moments offended somebody.
The first was Magda Szubanski’s appearance in Good News Week in which she had a go at cyclists who take up too much of the road.
“I don’t want to have to be in my car looking at your sweaty lycra bum raised in the air,” she said.
“Ride your stupid bike on the stupid bike path!”
(Magda from 1:20 secs)
But the gag caused offence to cyclists (apparently). There were probably other cyclists who weren’t offended too but unfortunately they make for lousy press.
Szubanski, who was herself the target of off humour from Kyle Sandilands, has apologised.
“We all make mistakes and the point is that hopefully we learn from them. Clearly my joke was stupid and insensitive but perhaps it has brought to light that there are frustrations amongst cyclists and motorists,” she said,
“Hopefully some good will come of this and it will help promote useful dialogue between the two groups.
“As a gesture of solidarity I have offered to participate in the National Ride to Work Day on October 14. Apologies again … and, yes, I will be wearing lycra.”
The second furore concerns a quick skit in Hungry Beast which parodied NRL scandals. A silhouetted man described how he had been ‘assaulted’ by netballers.
Netball Australia chief executive Kate Palmer said, “This skit, while attempting to be satire has missed the mark, is in poor taste and it has the potential to damage the reputations of Liz Ellis OAM, our former Australian Captain and netball great, and the members of the Australian Netball Team.”
Really?
No, really?
What about what Liz Ellis herself said on The 7PM Project on Tuesday this week? She showed a pretty good sense of humour then.
In a comment on AFL’s ‘Mad Monday’ antics, Ellis said during her early days of netball the girls got up to a few antics of their own.
“Finally we got to have Mad Mondays and we used to go to the pub and dress up as blokes,” she said.
“There has been allegations in the past that the Melbourne Vixens has No Undie Monday and -I don’t know if I can say this at this time- Titties-Out Tuesday.”
‘Nuff said.
Updated: Ellis’ spokesperson Jessica Ball told ninemsn, “She knows it was a joke and can see the funny side of it — she doesn’t feel defamed at all,”
“She is out on the golf course playing a round right now, which shows how concerned she is about this.”
TV Tonight understands the Hungry Beast sketch was never part of any bigger story to air next week. It was a one-off end of show gag.
Source: The Age, Daily Telegraph
LMAO at Ben (12:10pm).
This would have been the lead news story of the day if one Kyle Sandilands had said what Magda said or if the Chaser had done the netball skit.
And BTW yes Australia really does need to lighten up.
“I’m using yumour, Kim, yumour.”
LOL if anything positive is to come from this it’s that free press is being given to the largely ignored (ratings-wise) Hungry Beast and GNW which are facing some fierce competition of late.
I don’t mind bike riders when they obey the same rules on the roads as everyone else, many times I’ve seen them go strait through red lights or just go up on to the foot path without stopping. Then they wonder why they end up on the front of some truck coming the other way!
And bike pants are good, if you have the butt to wear them LOL
I knew that Magda would have to make an apology. We’ll get offended by anything these days. It seemed to me that she went a little overboard with the biker-bashing, but it was a joke after all. If you ask me, what they should apologize about, hilarious though it was, was ganging up on and publicly embarrassing the poor audience member in the front row.
Love how car drivers believe because they pay a rego fee they own the road, no wonder you’re w**kers and cannot deal with other uses be it motorbikes, trucks, cycles pedestrians etc.
Sure it’s all a joke (this was anyway) but then go and ride a bike yourself on the road and see how funny it is after getting treated like crap all because cars wanted to go 20km over limit and you won’t/can’t. If it’s all too PC for you then why feel so insecure to defend GNW/Magda, surely you’d have no worries over a “trivial” issue like this, but actually you do.
Lucky for Magda this deflects from her crap other show.
whata ridiculas politically correct world we live in…this would have been very funny….
I don’t mind cyclists who are on the roads, but when councils spend large amounts of money on nice new bike tracks and the cyclists don’t use them but instead ride on the highway right next to it then that peeves me off.
What’s that episode of south park where they try to do a christmas pageant at the school, which is progressively toned down due to outcry about themes found offensive by each religious group? In the end the christmas pageant is kids on a bare stage, doing interpretive dance dressed in a grey leotard.
I think comedy in Australia should be reduced to someone sitting silently in a big green field with paper bag over their head.
Of course, no doubt bloody today tonight or the herald sun would pick up the story of the outrage and hurt caused to the ‘tuckerbag enthusiasts society’ or something.
australia – get a grip.
@Chris: 30km per hour is hardly a safe speed when you’re meant to be going double that, it can still cause crashes.
Cyclists-obey the road rules and please chill out.
Magda please chill out.
Liz Ellis-dead set legend.
Australia-harden the f**k up please.
p.s Ten points for a razor scooter (TISM)
Haha just read an article about the Liz Ellis, netball sketch. Liz Ellis says she thinks its funny and so do i after reading some of what’s said.
This is from ninemsn article
“At first it was just me and Liz Ellis and that was fine, but then one by one they all appeared and they all started clapping and cheering her on … and they each tried a weird position,” he says in the sketch.
The interviewer says: “What kind of weird position?”
“Wing defence, centre … goal attack,” he replies, before apologising for crying.
Haha i literally laughed at loud reading that. Lucky i was alone when i read it.
Just hate how the PC crowed is killing comedy in this country!
Oh for goodness sake, do people not have a sense of humor any more. “Its a joke joyce”
What, where, *yawn* whats going on? oh this bulls**t again, again. why?
@Chris
Cyclists will have as much right to the roads as cars just as soon as they start paying registration and toll fees. Until then, suck it up.
Won’t somebody think of the children!
I’m with Magda on this one
I bet the people offended by the netball sketch are the same ones that called for Matthew Johns to be reinstated to the Footy Show.
@Paull
Cyclists have as much right to the roads as cars. God forbid you can only go 30 km/h! Get over it. Drive safely and patiently and no one gets hurt.
Can Australia go 5 minutes without jackasses complaining about something that offended them on the telly?
What a load of BS. Get over it! What is Australia coming to? I agree with what Magda says about bike riders. They ride 2-3 across without letting cars overtake down my main road, whilst there is ample room for them to ride on the side of the road, letting cars overtake.
If you are insulted by this, get a grip. People are dieing all over the road and all the media in Australia cares about is offending cyclists and netball players. Australian media died a little today
What she said is true though. Cyclists are a nuisance on the road because:
A: They can’t keep up with traffic- Which is annoying when you’re in a 60/70 zone and you’re going 30 behind a cyclist.
B: Their size: A small ding in a car may have monetary implications, but a small ding in a cyclist could be deadly, and no one wants that risk. So either more bike paths are made, or rules are made to keep them off main roads.
We have seen Kyle come a gutser over a bit of loose lip, the Chasers came a gutser over a bit black humour. Now it appears it is Magda’s turn to feel the fire.
I said it earlier this morning, when did we become so sensitive. It’s got to the point where we will soon have to ban comedy all together just incase we say something that someone will take offence too…………………… !
I can’t believe Magda…you would think she would have learned from others’ mistakes! Her show should be axed for that!
That Liz Ellis skit looks really funny…but i knew it would cause offence. Damn ABC have done it again!
Why the hell is Australia so easily offended these days..it makes me sick!
The gag which caused offense to cyclists was the one where she implored people to run them off the road. Not particularly intelligent to advocate deliberately injuring or killing cyclists because they annoy you. So back off the sarcasm.
Liz is hilarious! I think it’s all in good jest and if we can’t have a laugh then we are all taking life far too seriously.
Ok Good News Week those kind of jokes are made every single week, especially in that segment, i agree with her btw, and far more offensive things are said by Mikey Robbins. This is only brought up because she was the victim of the Kyle Sandilands “joke” so they want to bring her down with him. That’s all it is. Trying to teach her a lesson, that look you got offended by a joke, but you also offend people with your jokes.
The Liz Ellis “joke”. Ooooh don’t know about that one. Rape + Comedy ??? Although funniest Summer Heights High quote “Thank God You’re Here, Grandma’s been raped”
For crying out loud this is crazy! Magda’s bit on GNW had me in stitches and if it offended some cyclists too bad. Should people in the media apologize every dam time they offend some group? Sometimes it’s perhaps called for but not in this case.
And I didn’t see HB but that skit sounds funny and not offensive at all. I’m sure all the netball girls probably got a laugh out of it.
And Tom needs to apologise to iPhone owners and spastics. That was clearly in poor taste.
Moral outrage can go fudge itself!
It is Julia Morris who says to run over the cyclists, then later she wants to stab phone company employees.
Paul McDermott blasphemes, taking in vain the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is plainly going to Hell.
Unfortunately Magda’s point of cyclists not using bike paths is legit. However it seems we need two sorts of bike paths…one for serious cyclists which has minimal risk of pedestrians due to the speeds the cyclists reach, and one for mums and dads with their kids.
have to say this hungry beast thing looks pretty lame
Are you kidding? I can’t stand Magda but come on, a furore over a joke about cyclists? What a crock! Seems like you can’t say anything to anyone anymore without it being a scandal.
What a bunch of tea cups…as in a “storm in a…”
Journo’s go out of their way to find one person who is offended by something and it becomes a news story in this country.
Never thought much of Magda’s comedy but love her apology, dripping in sarcasm.
Let’s just hope she wasn’t serious about getting into the lycra.
Surely these are over reactions. Not only were both jokes, but neither had very serious or pointed targets.
Do we know if Ten actually put out Magda’s statement? Or was it a journo calling her up and trying to drum out something bigger?
I’m not being rude or anything but people should get over it. Who cares!
Well actually to wish anyone harm, especially in the very real danger of dooring is just not on.
If cyclists (like me) weren’t regularly abused on the road (throwing staff and verbal abuse) then the joke by Magda ain’t that bad but what she said could make things worse. Cyclists are exposed enough without being picked on in a TV show as much as no one meant any harm.
Contrast any suggestion for people to run truck or bus drivers off the road (it doesn’t happen) since you’re not in the position as a regular motorist to intimidate are you.
Journalists in the newsrooms of our daily papers (and commercial TV networks for that matter) seem to have nothing better to do these days but to create news where there is none.
Sad people.
Wow, haven’t we all become sensitive…………………………..