Before heading into the South African jungle as a contestant on Chanel 10’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, former Labor Senator Sam Dastyari handed over the login details of his social media accounts to KIIS FM’s Peter Deppeler aka ‘Intern Pete from Kyle and Jackie O’.
Deppeler – who went to the TV Week Logie Awards body-painted as a Logie, and used cricketer Steve Smith’s emotional press conference to plug Married At First Sight – received a torrent of criticism from Dastyari’s Facebook followers after making this post:
The responses ranged from confused to outraged:
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Deppeler followed up with the reveal photo and the backlash intensified:
In one of many posts asking Deppeler "how is this edgy?", Deppeler, who is himself gay, replied "just for LOLs n stuff."
Dastyari, who kissed Senator Derryn Hinch for a 'Yes' campaign stunt during Australia’s same-sex marriage debate, had this to say to The Feed when he arrived back in Australia after his eviction from the jungle:
“I’m horrified to think that anyone thought there was anything homophobic in any way shape or form in any of my social media. I’m hugely appreciative of my friend managing it for me while I was away. I have no doubt there was zero offence intended. Lesson learned: always manage your own socials – even if you’re in the jungle.”
Since leaving politics Sam has hosted ‘Gutter Politics’, a regular segment on KIIS FM where he “dishes the dirt on past and present politicians.” Asked why he thought Deppeler was a good candidate to manage his socials given Deppeler’s history of courting controversy, Dastyari responded, “He’s a good mate and he’s done some great work on social for KIIS.”
The Executive Director of Change.org, Sally Rugg, weighed in on Facebook, “Gay people aren’t your punchline. I’m not sure who’s running this page but when Sam’s back be great if we could get an explanation as to why this is meant to be entertaining or edgy.”
The Feed reached out to Deppeler via KIIS FM but no comment was received by the time of publishing.
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