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Barnaby Joyce's wife has lashed out at ABC 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson for subtly questioning whether her dog exists after Joyce yelled at the pooch in a TV interview.
Joyce screamed 'sit down' at his dog, which viewers couldn't see or hear, during an interview with Ferguson for ABC's 7.30 on Monday night.
His wife, Vikki Campion, on Wednesday called out Ferguson for her response to the interruption in a post on her Substack.
'Barnaby is a big boy and can take the heat. But it is one thing for Ferguson to cast a live stream into my house, and then question whether my dog exists,' Campion wrote.
'She might not have heard the barking, thanks to noise-cancelling audio, but I could.'
Campion said she'd grown tired of broadcasters complaining about interference during the MP's live interviews, given they're taken from their farm near Tamworth.
'If I'm going to open my home to the ABC, the least that the interviewer can offer is some respect for our surrounds - whether that is wildlife, chirping cicadas or Stella (the dog) going off at something you cannot hear because the studio has dulled her background noise,' she wrote.
'We are not in a studio. We don't have a whole team fussing around us. We're on a farm, doing our best to appease the media, where if you don't do the interview you are accused of 'hiding' from transparency and if you do the interview, you are smashed for yelling at a dog... to sit down.'
Barnaby Joyce's wife, Vikki Campion (pictured together), called out ABC interviewer Sarah Ferguson for questioning whether their dog 'exists'
Joyce (above) interrupted his interview with 7.30 on Monday night to yell 'sit down' at his dog, Stella
As for why Ferguson and viewers couldn't see or hear the dog, Campion claimed video conference tool Zoom automatically reduces background interruptions.
'Thanks to the rise of Zoom interviews, background noise can now be dialled down with a click,' Campion wrote.
'What viewers and a sanctimonious host missed on Monday night was a mostly-black dog, barking into the pitch-black night at a passing vehicle she found suspicious.
'Ferguson doesn't have to conduct her interview with incessant barking in her ear.
'But Barnaby has to answer her questions with that ongoing distraction without comment, apparently.'
Joyce on Tuesday morning responded to criticism of him yelling at the dog, saying Stella 'still loves' him.
'People in the regions laugh about it. People in the inner city think it's a war crime ,' he said.
Joyce's explosion at the dog came right as Ferguson had questioned whether he supported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's plans for mass deportation.
Campion slammed Ferguson (above) for questioning Joyce's reaction to the dog while conducting the interview from the comfort of a studio
Joyce on Tuesday said his dog, Stella (above), still 'loves' him
Joyce abruptly paused, turned and yelled 'sit down' to something off-screen.
'Sorry, it's a dog,' Joyce said.
Joyce interrupted the interview again two minutes later, this time moving away from Ferguson's question about a manifesto given to Hanson bluntly titled 'Mass Deportation'.
'I have to apologise for this dog, which has decided to bail up my...' Joyce said.
Ferguson cut him short: 'Don't worry about the dog, just answer the question.'
A clearly annoyed Joyce then shot back: 'Oh, don't be rude. Don't be rude otherwise this interview will come to a grinding halt, Sarah.'
The strange moment immediately caught the attention of viewers, with one labelling the interview a 'trainwreck' and joking Joyce would 'blame it all on the dog'.
Campion claimed Joyce only took the interview from 7.30 because 'the ABC constantly complains about One Nation refusing to take part in their interviews'.
Campion (pictured with Joyce) is said '7.30 is banned from my property'
'For years, I have personally set up cameras, lights and internet connectivity to assist Sydney media to interview Barnaby, often without ever so much as a thank you,' she wrote.
'Never again. ABC 7.30 is banned from my property.
'If Barnaby wants to do it, he can do it in Sydney or Canberra, in a studio where lights and microphones and cameras are done for him, just as they are for Ferguson, where he is at least on equal footing to a host who thinks she knows more about our farm than we do.'