‘Actually rude’: Arj Barker’s on-air clash with Erin Molan

The Arj Barker controversy has taken another weird turn, as he clashed with radio host Erin Molan live on-air this morning.

There’s been an unexpected twist in the Arj Barker controversy this morning, as the comedian faced off on air with the breastfeeding mother he booted out of his show on the weekend.

But in a development nobody saw coming, their clash was nothing compared to Barker’s on-air stoush with radio host Erin Molan, who called him out for being “rude” to her on multiple occasions.

Phoning in to 2DAY FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erin this morning, American comedian Barker first defended his actions at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre on Saturday night, telling the hosts he doesn’t “like seeing my jokes get robbed of their tension and get much less response because of disruption. I didn’t feel good about it, but I thought: ‘Ya gotta go.’”

They were then joined by the mother herself, Trish Faranda, who apologised for the disruption but told Barker she wished he’d “been a bit nicer about it” and “told some of the audience members it’s not OK to yell abuse as we were leaving your show.”

“It was extremely disappointing how you handled it. You offered me a refund of $25, but I’d rather you’d let me leave with my dignity,” Faranda said.

Comedian Arj Barker has certainly hit the headlines this week.

Seems Erin Molan is no fan of Barker.

Host Erin Molan then asked Barker what he’d say in response, which earned her a surprising jab from the comedian: “Thank you, I know how a conversation works,” he told her.

Video from this morning’s show revealed Molan had an instant, wordless reaction to that diss, visibly shocked that he was taking aim at her.

Barker went on to tell Faranda that the few minutes when she was leaving the show and other audience members were jeering was “a very hectic couple of minutes for me too,” claiming he assumed they were heckling him, not her.

The pair finally seemed to come to some sort of peace – before Molan stepped in again to offer Faranda some advice.

Erin Molan couldn't believe Barker was having a go at her.

Molan looked around to see if others had picked up the jab.

“I’d also say that we’ve had Arj on this show twice, and he’s shut me down on both occasions, so maybe sometimes the way that he speaks to people doesn’t always come across that well. I’d say that. Have a good day everyone, take care,” Molan said, moving to wrap up the segment.

Barker wasn’t letting her have the last word, though.

“Oh, ok, well I’ve had an experience where you’ve talked over me, so …” he began – which prompted a quick retort from Molan.

“Well, you know, I’m a radio host Arj. You say, ‘I know how to have a conversation’, but we’re trying to facilitate a chat on air that is a little bit awkward and has a bit of history,” she told him.

“And like last time you came on, you were rude to me again. That’s my observation.”

Mum Trish Faranda has given several interviews about the incident.

Barker apologised as Molan ended the call by telling him: “I’m happy to cop it once – but that second time was actually rude.”

The fiery interview comes as both Barker and Faranda embarked on separate media blitzes to offer their respective sides of the story of Saturday night’s incident.

Faranda last night sat down for interviews with A Current Affair and The Project – both of which were interrupted by her crying baby – while Barker has appeared this morning on Nine’s Today and Seven’s Sunrise.

Barker’s next stand-up show is scheduled to take place this Friday night in Healesville, Victoria.

Originally published as ‘Actually rude’: Arj Barker’s on-air clash with Erin Molan