One Nation has wasted no time turning Barnaby Joyce’s now-viral TV outburst at his dog into a tongue-in-cheek fundraising opportunity, launching a novelty dog lead complete with AI-generated promotional images.
If there is one thing Australian politics can usually agree on, it’s that a good blooper rarely goes to waste.
Just days after Barnaby Joyce’s televised interview was interrupted by him suddenly shouting “SIT DOWN!” at his dog Stella, One Nation has embraced the moment with a novelty product called “Sitdown! Barnaby’s Dog Leads.”
The dog leads, available for pre-order for $10 and expected to arrive in August, are being promoted with AI-generated images showing the product packaging alongside unmistakably Australian props, including an Akubra hat and eucalyptus leaves.
The party leaned into the joke in a social media post. “By now you’ve probably seen the clip. Barnaby, mid-interview on national television dealing with the one constituent who refuses to listen,” the post read. “So we made a lead for the occasion.”
The accompanying product description continues the gag, saying the lead is for “every dog who has quietly decided that today is not the day for instructions”.
The original moment unfolded during an ABC 7.30 interview with Sarah Ferguson, when Joyce abruptly interrupted his answer to bellow “SIT DOWN” before quickly explaining, with a laugh, that he was talking to his dog.
The unexpected interruption quickly spread across social media, spawning memes and jokes from across the political spectrum. Joyce later explained that Stella had been barking throughout the interview and joked that perhaps she thought she needed to defend him from Ferguson. He has also quipped that he was “incredibly sorry” for having “verbally assaulted the dog”.
Judging by the internet’s reaction, Stella may have emerged from the interview with the strongest approval ratings of anyone involved.
Images: Supplied
