Former The Project star David “Hughesy” Hughes has revealed he was accosted by two large men on a busy Sydney beach over a joke told on the current affairs show that sparked widespread outrage.
Hughesy told 2DayFM listeners on Tuesday he was heading home from a dip at Bondi beach on Monday when he heard a “big, muscly bloke” yell out his name.
The radio host said the man asked him: “You on The Project?”
“You against Jesus? If you are, I’m gonna bash you.”
Hughesy spoke about the incident on radio with his co-hosts.
Hughesy, who left The Project a decade ago, said he told the men he was no longer part of the show.
The Network Ten show hosted comedian Reuben Kaye as a guest on the program last Tuesday.
“I love Jesus, I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more,” Kaye joked during his time on the panel.
The controversial quip sparked widespread outrage among groups of devout Christians, who have organised rallies and protests in response.
Police responding to group of men chanting the Lord’s Prayer in Newtown and protesting(?)
Pretty creepy pic.twitter.com/veKB5Rxjby
— Tim Collis (@tymme95) March 3, 2023
On Friday evening, 30 angered men march up a busy street in Newtown, Sydney, all chanting the Lord’s Prayer.
The group, reportedly associated with the anti-LGBTQI Christian Lives Matter group were filmed and photographed walking up King Street, protesting the joke made by Kaye, who is proudly queer.
Hughesy went on to tell radio listeners about the great lengths he went to to convince his “fans” he was in fact a Christian man.
“I told him I was a Catholic,” he said.
“I said I went to a CBC, which is a Christian Brothers college. I said I’ve taken the Eucharist.”
Hughesy said the man then proceeded to ask him for his phone number.
“I gave him my number, yeah,” Hughesy said.
“I thought I’d better give him the right number because he’ll ring it straight away.
“Now he has my number, that guy.”
Queer comic Reuben Kaye is in trouble for making a Jesus joke on The Project. Picture: The Project/Channel 10
Hughesy’s co-host Erin Molan asked if he was “that scared” he felt the need to hand out his private details.
“I did!” he said.
“I don’t think threatening to bash anyone at any stage is ever okay, despite the loyalty,” Molan said.
“I don’t think Jesus ever did.”
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