You can always bank on The Project to deliver news a little differently, but a segment on Wednesday’s episode has left viewers divided.
During a segment, comedian Sam Taunton spent a day trying to live on $40, to see what it would be like for a recipient of Newstart.
And while it was meant to be a humorous take on a very important issue, fans of the show were left feeling highly offended.
In five-minutes, viewers saw the comedian buy a bag of chips from a service station for breakfast, drinking a $4.40 coffee at a café and eating a $16 avocado toast for brunch.
He then purchased a $9 bottle of wine and a cup of noodles for dinner before realising he hadn’t factored in rent or toiletries.
Wine and cup of noodles. Comedian Sam Taunton during The Project segment on Newstart.
(Source: Network Ten)Fans were very quick to point out that the segment had completely missed the mark.
“Get what you we’re trying to do #TheProjectTV but maybe comedy wasn’t the best approach,” one fan of the show wrote.
“This whole segment about Newstart on #TheProjectTV is offensive and ridiculous. Making out like all young people on Newstart are irresponsible and can’t afford things because they waste money on $16 avocado on toast and wine in place of dinner is not funny, and not helping,” another said.
While another commented: “That segment on living of $40 a day, was pointless. It’s didn’t achieve anything, not even funny. I’m thinking that a person living on #Newstart would love to be able to enjoy avo on toast @theprojecttv #TheProjectTV”
There was also backlash from citizens who are currently living on Newstart, saying that it implied that they “waste their money”.
“I live on NewStart, but this segment is ridiculous. People on NewStart can’t even CONSIDER avocado on toast. We won’t buy junk food from a service station. This bloke makes out that we waste our money on takeaway!” one Twitter user said.
However, another member of the public gave a different perspective to the skit.
“I didn’t take it this way. This bloke was resorting to comedy to make us talk about a topic that is affecting 700k aussies. He also told us that Newstart hasn’t risen in real terms in over 20 years.”
Sam eating a $16 avocado toast from a cafe as part of the skit.
(Source: Network Ten)*Leading up to the election, the issues of raising Newstart has been a hot topic.
In fact, Labor leader Bill Shorten has promised a review of the benefit if he gets elected into the top position.
And while a lot of people may agree with this, veteran TV host, Kerri Anne Kennerley has A LOT to say about the election.
In a scathing attack on Studio Ten, Kerri-Anne has slammed opposition leader Bill Shorten
The veteran TV host did not hold back at all, saying, “If Bill Shorten gets in, it’s the end of life as we know it.”
WATCH NEXT: Kerri Anne Kennerley launches scathing attack on Bill Shorten
Story continues…
Kerri-Anne’s comments shocked her fellow panellist, with host Sarah Harris even exclaiming: “Tell us what you really think!”
The 64-year-old slammed the Labor party’s plan to set up a taxpayer-funded Gender Centre to support transgender people.
“One thing I’m seriously outraged about, the millions and millions they’ll spend on a Gender Commission,” she said.
“These kids out there who are gender confused, and there’s a percentage of people out there gender confused, they will put up this Commission and we, like Tasmania, will have a child and it won’t be male or female, it will be gender-free.”
Later, she revealed that the Labor party had emailed her, accusing her of spreading “fake news”.
