Australian comedian Peter Helliar has called out Melbourne comedian Nick Trapani and three others over podcast remarks about murdered American woman Gabby Petito, urging men in comedy to “be better”.
Trapani has since apologised for the discussion on his Trapanischoice podcast, describing the comments as “wrong” and “offensive”.
In an Instagram video, Helliar said he felt compelled to speak after footage circulated of “four male comedians in Melbourne” discussing Petito’s death.
Petito, 22, was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, during a road trip in 2021. Her remains were found in Wyoming that September, while Laundrie later died by suicide.
The podcast discussion included laughter and comments suggesting the murder was “fair enough, justified”. The men also discussed Petito’s appearance in sexualised terms.
Helliar described the remarks as a “horrific joke” and questioned how the comedians could be unaware of the wider crisis of violence against women.
“What kind of cave are you living in where you are not aware that we have a major crisis in this country where women are being murdered, not only by strangers … but also by people they trust — husbands, boyfriends, friends, neighbours, work colleagues,” he said.
Helliar also referred to the death of Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon, who was raped and murdered while walking home after a comedy performance eight years ago.
He said female comedians could not experience the same sense of comfort, confidence and safety as male performers, arguing that inappropriate behaviour and comments by men had a wider impact.
“Maybe they’ve been inappropriate directly towards them, maybe they just heard them make a sick f****** joke about rape and murder on a podcast,” Helliar said. “Or that they saw you laughing at that joke.”
Trapani was due to appear as a commentator for SouthCoast Monster Trucks at the Melbourne Country Show at Caribbean Park, but the organisation ended its association with him on Tuesday following the backlash.
The podcast episode was subsequently removed from YouTube. In a statement issued on Thursday, Trapani said the comments had been made by others during the episode but accepted responsibility because it was his programme and he had “laughed along”.
“Words matter. What was said was wrong. It was offensive,” Trapani said.
“I take full responsibility, and unreservedly apologise. I’ve since deleted the episode.”
He added: “Violence against women should never be turned into a joke. I am deeply sorry to Gabby’s family and friends, and apologise to everyone who has lived through or has a loved one who is or has been subjected to violence.”
Trapani said he stood “firmly against violence against women” and would reflect on the role of podcast hosts, guests and the wider comedy community in ensuring their words did not cause harm.
