Update: Steve Price has told The Project viewers to move on, saying: "I don't feel I was bullied at all. No one on The Project owes me an apology for anything. I'm a big boy and I can look after myself. Let's get on with the program."
The show's guest comedian Tommy Little later made the gag that Connor McGregor's speech after his second UFC belt win – "I'd like to take this chance to apologise ... to absolutely nobody" – was how The Project could "apologise to Pricey for the bullying".
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Steve Price clashes with Jamila Rizvi
Steve Price goes head to head with Jamila Rizvi as the world reels from Donald Trump's shock presidential win. Courtesy The Project, 6.30pm weekdays on Ten.
"Oh no it's happening again. I'm going to be part of a petition," he joked to a tight-lipped Steve Price.
A petition calling for The Project to apologise to Steve Price after he was 'bullied' by Carrie Bickmore live on-air has received 17,000 signatures.
The Change.org petition says the 61-year-old radio presenter was a victim of "leftist bullying" after a heated debate with columnist Jamila Rizvi last week which ended with Bickmore telling Price to watch his tone.
Price, a 2GB presenter and regular guest on The Project, was commenting on Donald Trump's election victory on Wednesday night when Rizvi, a vocal Hillary Clinton supporter, cut him off.
"The people in real America, in small town America, weren't buying the bulldust that was coming out of the elites," Price said.
When Rizvi interjected, calling the idea of a real America "bullshit", Price got personal.
"This is the reason why Donald Trump won, because people like you lecture and hector people."
Bickmore jumped to Rizvi's defence and warned Price to not "keep that tone" as the guests bickered between themselves. But it appears a large number of people think Rizvi was in the wrong.
The petition started three days ago calls for The Project to apologise to Price, describing the incident as "leftist bullying".
"Nobody, no matter what side of politics they fall on, should have to experience the abuse and degradation of what Steve had to go through on that program," petition founder Thomas Nicholls wrote.
"What happened on The Project is unacceptable and should be condemned. Wether you are on the left, right, or somewhere in between, nobody should experience what Steve experienced."
While Price was accused of "talking down" to Rizvi in reports on media sites such as Junkee, conservative commentators came down hard on the former Labor staffer.
2GB presenter Ben Fordham weighed-in on Twitter, resulting in an online spat with Rizvi.
"Pricey was allowed to speak for approx 4 seconds before being interrupted," Fordham wrote, with the hashtag "freedomofspeech".
When Rizvi replied, saying she was the one being interviewed, not Price, Fordham sarcastically reminded her The Project was a panel show.
"Oh. I thought it was a panel show where people chip in their opinions. My mistake."
Price regularly draws the ire of The Project panel, in the past clashing with Waleed Aly on mining, Bickmore on breastfeeding and former host Charlie Pickering on asylum seekers.
The 61-year-old also drew audible gasps from the Q&A; audience in July when he called columnist Van Badham "hysterical".
Channel Ten are yet to respond to the petition.
@BenFordham @theprojecttv @StevePriceMedia And yet apparently, I was the one being interviewed. Not him.
— Jamila Rizvi (@JamilaRizvi) November 9, 2016