Melbourne comedian Nick Trapani has been dropped from an upcoming SouthCoast Monster Trucks event after a podcast discussion about murdered US woman Gabby Petito triggered a backlash over its degrading and misogynistic tone.
Trapani had been due to work as a commentator at the Melbourne Country Show at Caribbean Park. SouthCoast Monster Trucks said it had ended its association with him following comments made during an episode of his podcast, Trapanischoice.
In a statement posted on social media, the organisation said: “SouthCoast Monster Trucks has made the decision that Nick Trapani will no longer be representing or working with our organisation.”
“The content that has been brought to our attention does not reflect our values or the standards we expect from anyone associated with our team.”
The company said it aimed to provide “a safe, enjoyable and family-friendly environment for our community” and apologised to anyone who had been “hurt, upset or disappointed by this situation”.
Podcast discussion about Gabby Petito
Trapani, who is known for dark comedy and material that pushes social boundaries, was joined by three other comedians during the recording. They discussed Petito, who was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, during a 2021 road trip in the United States.
The men could be heard laughing and joking about her death. One said: “That’s the real reason that Gabby Petito chick got killed,” before another asked who she was.
After Petito was described as a woman who had been travelling in a van with her boyfriend, one of the men said: “Well that’s America, America’s f***d up, I don’t know what you expect.” Another then responded: “But when you look at it that way, fair enough, justified,” prompting laughter.
The conversation went on to mock Petito’s status as an influencer, referring to her as an “influenza” and a “virus”. The men also joked about her age and appearance, with one saying she was “probably 21, 22, hottish, you’d give her one in an emergency”.
Women’s rights campaigner Sherele Moody shared the recording online and identified the participants as Aden Hitchins, Jordan Mitchell, Steve Ock and Trapani. She said the men had “demeaned and sexualised” Petito and described the discussion as evidence of their “disdain for women”.
Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming in September 2021, after she was killed on 2 July that year. Laundrie later died by suicide.
The original podcast episode has since been removed from the Trapanischoice YouTube channel. Some of the men also subsequently locked their Instagram accounts, according to Moody.
