Comparing a harmless salad item to the Deputy Prime Minister – as actor Johnny Depp did last night – is both unwarranted and unfair.
It has led to an understandable outcry from the tomato community, who feel vilified and belittled. As one tomato said today, “What the fuck”.
It may have been a throwaway line from the Pirates Of The Caribbean star, but the damage has been done. How you would feel if you had been likened to a man who can hardly string together a sentence, much less provide a tasty complement to a pasta dish or antipasto plate?
It is unfair to compare the two. As one food expert said today, “I don’t see the resemblance. One is a plump, red vegetable. The other is a tomato”.
But it’s the word ‘inbred’ that hurt the most. To think that a tomato would … well, you get the drift.
Mr Depp has used his position of power to slander all tomatoes. The comments are hurtful and irresponsible. He should apologise.
[Editor’s note: in an earlier version of this article we said Barnaby Joyce was ‘as mad as a cut snake’. We apologise unreservedly to the cut snake community].
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