Comedian Reuben Kaye fires up with more VERY risqué religious jokes at comedy festival after The Project backlash
Comedian Reuben Kaye has embraced the fame of his performance on The Project, where he made a lewd joke about Jesus, with more scathing jokes aimed at religion.
In late February, Kaye forced hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris into a fawning apology after making the joke about Jesus, “I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more.”
Kaye appeared on the ABC’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival Allstars Super Show last Wednesday, showing risqué material centered around the Catholic Church and child abuse.
“I was raised by Jews, but I was raised by Catholics,” he said.
The joke earned the gay comedian a lengthy round of applause, which he acknowledged with an apparent courtesy.
After the storm of outrage sparked by a lewd joke about Jesus on Channel 10 show The Project, drag comedian Reuben Kaye continues to target Christianity in jokes
He later spoke about the controversy surrounding drag queen Courtney Act, who was involved in a children’s story at an ABC Play School last year.
“But who would you rather hold your child, a drag queen or a priest?” Kaye said to cheers from the audience.
“Because the worst thing a drag queen can smear on a kid’s face is glitter.”
Kaye then sings about having 39 lashes, which is the amount of lashes Jesus received before being crucified.
He then proceeds to tell the audience that the difference between drag queens and churches is that the former pays taxes, while the latter pays “hush money.”
Kaye (pictured in London in 2022) made a series of religious jokes when he appeared on an ABC show last week
As four drag queens join him onstage amid a hail of fake money, Kaye ended his act with a knowing and defiant look at the audience before declaring, “Nailed it.”
He recently re-shared the material on social media with the caption, “Happy Easter.”
The TV appearance was to promote his cabaret show Kaye Hole, which runs until April 22 as part of the comedy festival.
“Weird, messy, fast, loose and damn hilarious,” reads the show’s promotion.
‘The hottest late-night ticket in town, where the festival’s riskiest and most diverse acts break out dripping in sweat and are backed by a live band.’
Following its appearance on Channel 10’s media watchdog The Project, ACMA said it had received 203 complaints or questions about the episode, which aired on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Following the lewd joke Kaye (pictured left) made about Jesus in late February, The Project hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris (pictured center right) apologized the next day
Co-host Harris laughed at the joke, which was broadcast uncensored during the live broadcast, but her Muslim colleague Aly remained icy-faced.
The next night, Aly and Harris apologized for the prank.
“We want to acknowledge the particular affront that has caused our Muslim viewers, but especially our Christian viewers,” Aly said.
“Of course I understand how deep that transgression was.”
Aly and Harris said the prank was unexpected and left unedited because it was a live broadcast.
However, one of the program’s former panelists, Em Rusciano, doubted this.
“I find it pretty hard to believe that (Reuben Kaye) stopping a nation prank wasn’t script approved,” she wrote on Twitter.
‘I’ve been working on The Project – VERY little off the cuff! A small, small amount. They threw him flat under the bus (in my opinion). Sorry, but someone had to say it.’