Religious group mounts inner Sydney protest against The Project’s Jesus joke

A group of men from a religious group took to the streets of Newtown on Friday night to protest comments made on current affairs programs The project this week.

Police spoke to the group of about 30 people who marched down the King Street footpath before dispersing just before 9pm.

It is understood that members of the Christian Lives Matter online community were present at the unauthorized protest and that it was in response to comments made on the current affairs program The project.

On Tuesday night, comedian Reuben Kaye was a guest on Channel 10’s The project, where he joked, “I love Jesus. I love any guy who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more.

The project‘s co-hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris apologized on Wednesday after the program faced backlash for airing the prank.

Charlie Bakhos, an administrator of the Facebook group Christian Lives Matter, shared footage of the protest with the caption, “massive turnout with the boys praying a powerful rosary tonight in Newtown.”

No arrests have been made during the protest, but police are investigating an alleged assault on the same evening. They have yet to determine whether the incident was related to the protest.

At about 8:30 p.m. Friday, a man was allegedly assaulted in a licensed building on King Street. Officers from the Inner West Police Area Command were told that two men were involved in the altercation, one of whom was assaulted.

The man did not require medical treatment and the investigation is continuing.

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