Call to sack Steve Price over domestic violence debate

A PETITION calling for The Project to sack controversial commentator Steve Price is slowly gaining traction.

A PETITION calling for The Project to sack controversial commentator Steve Price is slowly gaining traction.

Just over 1850 people have signed the Remove Steve Price from The Project petition on Change.Org since it started circulating across social media late on Tuesday.

Brisbane resident Catherine Lewis started the petition after Price fronted his The Project colleagues Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Ally over controversial comments he made on the ABC's Q&A program on Monday evening.

"After watching Steve Price's disgusting behaviour on Q&A last night I am truly disappointed that a TV show like the project allows him to continue to spread his hate and outdated views on women and domestic violence," Ms Lewis wrote on the Change.org website.

"We are asking that Steve Price be taken off the Project as a guest panellist."

Price on Tuesday told The Project the Q&A producers used anti-domestic violence advocate ambassador Tarang Chawla, who's sister Nikita was allegedly killed by her partner early in 2015, to "ambush" him with a question about male attitudes and violence against women.

Price failed to fully respond to Mr Chawla's question, instead he chose the moment to defend a controversial "drowning" joke made by his friend Eddie McGuire about sports writer Caroline Wilson a few weeks ago.

Steve Price calls Van Badham hysterical on ABC's Q&A;.

The radio broadcaster also stood by Footy Show host Sam Newman's follow-up sledge against Wilson and other public figures who critiqued McGuire for what was widely condemned as a misogynistic and dismissive attitude towards women and violence.

During Monday night's Q& Price branded female columnist Van Badham "hysterical" after she held him to account for backing up his mates' banter "between blokes" stance.

"The way I was ambushed last night was the producer, who said that question would be asked, didn't tell me that the person asking that question would be the victim of such horrific family violence," Price said.

Price told the Project, Badham "verballed" him about domestic violence. "I'm just disappointed that this story today has become about me," he said.

"I think all the energy that has been put into this discussion today should be put into solving the problem as opposed to just piling in on top of me.

"I don't think that achieves anything.

"I didn't try to turn anything into theatre, but I'm not going to be verballed by an aggressive woman sitting next to me who thinks you can only be upset by domestic violence if you're female."
 

Steve Price goes on The Project to defend his controversial appearance on Q&A;. Picture: Channel 10

Project co-host Waleed Aly questioned Price's use of the word "hysterical" which for thousands of years has had negative connotations about women.

"Using that word to describe me would be different, because for 4000 years women were described as hysterical as a way of trying to say they were irrational, incapable of being reasonable because they had ovaries," Aly told Price.

Price said he has no idea of the word's roots and said he would use it to describe both males and females if the situation warranted.

"I will describe things as I see them," he said.

"I don't need to change my behaviour in that area." Meanwhile, Mr Chawla on Tuesday called for Price to sit down and have a discussion with him about domestic violence and male attitudes towards women.

"For each of us, we need to acknowledge that "jokes" which normalise violence against women are not OK," Mr Chawla wrote for News.com.au.

"Your friends aren't being maligned because the so-called feminist agenda is out to get them.

"This isn't about your mates. This isn't about you, Steve.

"This isn't about me, either. This is about my beautiful sister. This is about every victim and their family who we have collectively failed through a lack of action.

"This is about every survivor who needs access to community legal services and support to live a life free from fear. These are the real issues which should upset men."

Since the start of this year about, 33 women have been killed or allegedly killed by their former or current male partners or male family members. 

*For 24-hour support phone Queensland's DVConnect on 1800 811 811 or MensLine on 1800 600 636, NSW's Domestic Violence Line on 1800 656 463 or the national hotline 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).