Comedian Rhys Nicholson ruffled Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with an impromptu dig at the Federal Government's foot-dragging on same-sex marriage rights during an appearance on The Project on Wednesday night.
Turnbull was a special guest on Ten's panel show to defend the Government's controversial new Home Affairs security portfolio to be headed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton.
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Comedian cut off after dig at PM
A comment about same-sex marriage got comedian Rhys Nicholson abruptly cut off on The Project.
But, as often happens when politicians appear on entertainment shows, he stuck around for some lighthearted banter, sitting in on a story about the spike in demand for redheaded sperm donors, which Nicholson, a "ginger ambassador", was beamed in to comment on.
After being awkwardly quizzed on redhead semantics, the comedian flipped the goofy discussion to a more significant analogy.
![Turnbull was saved from responding by host Carrie Bickmore.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170723162050im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/e/u/a/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxetrc.png/1500561627595.jpg)
"The main thing is you don't want anyone to be treated differently for something they can't change about themselves, so just deal with it – like, for example, marriage rights or something," he said.
With Turnbull caught offguard, host Carrie Bickmore quickly shut the segment down, telling the PM "I'm gonna save you from that" and moving on to congratulate him for supporting her Beanies 4 Cancer charity.
But Nicholson's quip wasn't lost on viewers, who praised him as a "bloody legend" for speaking up on marriage equality and confronting the PM.
Shout out to @rhysnicholson for speaking up on marriage equality. Can't say the say for @BickmoreCarrie for brushing off the topic.
— Mitchell H. (@mitchellhaywood) July 19, 2017
![Rhys Nicholson ambushed the PM on the government's marriage equality stance.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170723162050im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/e/u/a/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxetrc.png/1500561627595.jpg)
@rhysnicholson is officially my favourite human being after calling out the PM on national TV about marriage equality
— hannahconda (@hnnhplmr) July 19, 2017
You are a bloody legend @rhysnicholson #LGBT #MarriageEquality @TurnbullMalcolm @TheProjectTV
— Stephen B Sander (@stephenbsander) July 19, 2017
"It was such a flowery segment," Nicholson told Fairfax Media on Thursday morning.
"It feels like the conversation about this stuff with the PM is like a barb in his side, like 'Oh, I hope I don't get asked about that...', which is utter bulls---.
"So I'm glad this [reaction] happened, because it's the first conversation we've had about marriage equality in a little while," he said.
He rejected, however, the notion that Bickmore or the show's producers sought to spare Turnbull's blushes in quickly wrapping up the segment.
"I don't think [Carrie] deserves that," he said.
"I know for a fact that she is pro-gay marriage and The Project as a whole, well, the place is run by gays," he joked.
"I know how live TV works... I just wanted to rattle [Turnbull] a little bit.
"I expected him not to answer, but all I hope is he got into his car last night with one of his assistants, you know, like in a Thick Of It kinda way, and just been like 'what the f--- was that?!'"
Nicholson has previously spoken out on the government's backwards stance on same-sex marriage rights.
At a comedy show in May last year, he legally married fellow queer comedian Zoe Coombs Marr in a political stunt that criticised the government's hypocritical marriage laws.
He also recently launched a podcast titled Listen To Love with comedians Joel Creasey and Tom Ballard, that features stories from same-sex couples condemning how marriage restrictions have affected their relationships.
"I just recently bought a house with my partner, and there are so many little things we have to do that a married couple doesn't have to... Things that would be very easily fixed by allowing gay marriage," said Nicholson.
"Five years ago if I'd said something like that, the responses would have been, 'How dare you disrespect the PM like that...', whereas people just want him to be accountable now."
— Rhys Nicholson (@rhysnicholson) July 19, 2017