Channel Seven comedian Mark Humphries has stepped forward to respond to his critics.
The 31-year-old comedian has come under fire for his weekly satirical “bulletin” which fills 7News on Friday nights.
Dubbed “The 6.57pm News”, the segment has been criticised by viewers as unfunny, “embarrassing” and “stupid”.
But Humphries has taken aim at detractors who sparked an uproar over the new sketch, which debuted last month.
“The great thing about The 6:57pm News is that if you don’t like it, you know exactly when to avoid it,” he said. Sunday Confidential.
Elsewhere in the chat, Humphries mocked his critics who claimed he was not responsible for his jokes.
“I’m not sure who at Seven would give me a script, but they’re welcome to do so – it would certainly save me the time of writing one with one of my regular co-writers,” he added.
Humphries also boasted that the 6.57pm news has been a hit on TikTok, where the comedian has attracted 18,600 followers.
Channel Seven comedian Mark Humphries (pictured) has stepped forward to hit back at his critics. The 31-year-old has come under fire for his weekly satirical ‘bulletin’ which tops off Seven’s Friday night news.
Viewers have been divided over Humphries’ announcement, with many sharing their disgust on social media.
“It was a deplorable segment that has no place in a news bulletin,” said one.
“At least now everyone has time for a soft drink and hot chocolate before Home and Away comes on,” said another.
However, some fans came out in support of the comedian, saying it is better than other Australian TV news shows.
“It made me think of Clarke and Dawe and their brilliance,” said one, referring to the Channel 9 and then ABC satirical news show that ended in 2017.
The segment, dubbed “The 6.57pm News”, has been criticised by viewers for being unfunny, “embarrassing” and “stupid”. But Humphries has taken aim at the detractors who sparked an uproar over the new sketch, which debuted last month.
Elsewhere in the chat, Humphries mocked his critics who claimed he was not responsible for his jokes.
“I loved this,” said another.
“Better than The Project,” was another comment.
This follows a series of changes by Seven’s new director of news and current affairs, Anthony De Ceglie.
It revamped Seven’s news programme by introducing a satirical parody of Humphries, as well as a regular segment on astrology.
Meanwhile, there are reports of a bloodbath in network cost-cutting under the new management.
Big names to appear on the network of late include veterans Robert Ovadia, Andrew Frampton and seasoned Melbourne crime reporter Cameron Baud, known to friends as the “Reaper of Sorrows” for his grim reporting.
Veteran anchor Sharyn Ghidella was also let go from the network, after nearly four decades working in the news industry.
Humphries boasted that the 6:57 p.m. news has been a hit on Tik Tok, where the comedian has attracted 18.6 thousand followers.
In a scathing Facebook post, Ghidella said he did not like the rebranding of the network’s news programming.
Some viewers opposed the changes.
‘You fired Sharyn Ghidella and now at the end of the news you have a very boring, stupid, moronic idiot!’ wrote one viewer.
“I will never watch Seven News again,” they continued on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Humphries rose to prominence on ABC’s satirical show The Roast, and also appeared on the network’s 7.30 and Insiders.
The comedian hosted the Australian version of BBC show Pointless, which was cancelled after four months in 2019. Humphries later revealed the franchise didn’t work here because it “lacked the comedic banter” of the UK version.
Humphries has also previously appeared on SBS’s The Feed and ABC’s Insiders.