Josh Thomas ‘wins’ Bob Katter Q&A bout
Comedian Josh Thomas ignited the Twittersphere last night when he blasted federal politician Bob Katter for his “kooky” views on homosexuality during an episode of Q&A.
Thomas, an openly gay man, was responding to comments Katter had made earlier in the show claiming that no gay people lived in his electorate.
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When asked by an audience member whether his stance on homosexuality was detrimental to the gay community, Katter said the mental health of homosexuals was not a priority for his electorate.
Thomas was quick to interject.
“I think the problem is that you say it’s not a priority but you talk about it quite a bit and when you do talk about it, you say awful things,” Thomas said.
“If you’re going to go out there as an elected member of parliament and deny the existence of homosexuals in your electorate which is kooky – adorable, but kooky – of course people are going to get upset.”
The comedian then pulled some laughs from the audience and host Tony Jones by jokingly suggesting Katter download the gay dating app Grindr.
“When you go out and deny the existence of homosexuals in North Queensland – they exist, there’s an app called grinder I’ll put it on your phone – you disenfranchise the community,” Thomas explained.
When Katter tried to assert that he had not made comments about homosexuals in recent years, Jones interjected arguing, “your own half brother actually came out and accused you of making dangerous and hurtful statements about homosexual people”.
Social media users applauded Thomas for his speech, describing the Please Like Me star as the “clear winner” of the evening.
Josh Thomas on a roll telling Bob Katter homosexuals exist in Queensland: “There’s an app called Grindr, I’ll put in on your phone.” #qanda
— Julia Baird (@bairdjulia) October 6, 2014
@josephjoyceraso He was great. Did his research and spoke pretty well. I’d pay to watch a show where he gets Katter on grindr.
— Denham Sadler (@denhamsadler) October 6, 2014
Love how @joshthomas87 put @bobkatter in his place over anti-LGBQTI comments on #qanda last night http://t.co/GiB7ZiQNXa
— Alicia Tan (@aliciamtan) October 7, 2014
josh thomas for prime minister — l u c y (@thxothxrsidx) October 7, 2014