Furious viewers have threatened to boycott Channel Seven after the broadcaster debuted a new satirical segment hosted by comedian Mark Humphries.
The 6:57 p.m. newscast will be a weekly segment on Fridays after the news bulletins and is just one of a series of changes introduced by the channel.
Humphries decided to make several jokes about President Joe Biden after the latter made several gaffes during a high-pressure press conference.
“Today, people around the world were waiting with bated breath to hear from Joe Biden, the leader of the free world, for now,” the comedian began.
‘His press conference was delayed by more than an hour, presumably because the President was late or, more likely, because he was late walking.
“And you know it was serious because of the way the White House presented it. A big boy press conference. And that’s technically correct if you use Benjamin Button’s definition of ‘boy.'”
“Biden, who is 81 but doesn’t look a day older than 90, spoke fluently on a variety of issues and allayed voters’ fears about his age – that’s what I wish I could tell you.”
“Well, it didn’t fail,” Seven presenter Angela Cox said at the end of the segment.
Comedian Mark Humphries’ first sketch comedy aired on Channel Seven on Friday night.
Furious viewers were quick to share their thoughts on the skit.
‘You fired Sharyn Ghidella and now at the bottom of the news you have a very unfunny, stupid, moronic idiot!’ wrote one woman on X.
“I will never watch Seven News again.”
“What is this horse shit?” said one man.
This comes after veteran Channel Seven presenter Sharyn Ghidella was axed from the network after nearly four decades in the industry.
Ghidella, 58, the face of Seven News in Queensland since 2007, confirmed the news in an impassioned Facebook post on Friday.
She said her “tap on the shoulder” finally came while she was in the salon, admitting it was something of a “relief” after several anxious weeks over media job cuts.
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 that the franchise was unsuccessful here because it “lacked the comedic banter” of the UK version.
The comedian has also previously appeared on SBS’s The Feed and ABC’s Insiders.
More to come.
