The absolute flaming pile of construction mess that is The Block at the moment is finding more ways to tear itself down, and last night’s episode featured one of the all-time greatest pieces of tone deaf non-apology you’re ever likely to see from host Scott Cam.
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In case you missed it, the show is currently in the midst of a very nasty and quite ugly stereotyping/homophobic controversy surrounding contestants Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie and the production’s quite relentless attempts to turn them into the “evil” gay couple.
Ever since the Sydney couple shifted the floor plans of their stretch of St Kilda’s Oslo Hotel – shifting a top-level master bedroom suite into a dedicated living and recreation space, complete with terrace – the pair have been subjected to a series of thinly veiled quips about their intentions. Chiefly, that they were building a house for, air quotes, “people like them.”
The build up of frustration on the behalf of Mitch & Mark boiled over on Sunday night’s episode, where they suggested the show’s judges need to “walk away” from whatever insinuation was being made about their work. Host Scott Cam, reading the judge’s comments, barked that he personally didn’t have to walk away from anything, despite Mitch & Mark quite calmly – all things considered – explaining why the commentary irked them.
Last night, Cam dug his heels in after delivering a fairly obviously scripted non-apology apology to the duo, in which he explained that the “people like you” commentary referred to a vast array of personalities, actually, before offering an apology only if they were offended by it.
But it was the follow-up, where Cam bafflingly blew up over not receiving an apology from Mitch & Mark for whatever reason, leading to a walk out that Channel Nine (which this publication is owned by) used as a promotional hook all throughout Monday.
Cam, aggrieved by the fact that Mitch & Mark met his half-baked explanation with a legitimately gracious “we accept that, thank you,” huffed and puffed his way through one of the strangest diatribes you’re likely to see in any show about fixing up a big ass house.
By the way, some things were said during the week about my character, things were said about me, about my character, in regards to you guys, and I don’t accept that. I was offended. And I [was] expecting you to say sorry once I explained it, but you didn’t say sorry, you said “thank you.” So that’s it.
Baring in mind that not once during Cam’s initial speech to Mitch & Mark did he actually say “sorry” himself.
Unsurprisingly, fans on social media tore that embarrassing display a new drain hole.
https://twitter.com/michaelshaun36/status/1171018398593179648
Probably jumped the gun on that apology, didn’t you @ScottyCam9??#theblock #TheBlockAU
— TL (@TroyLester) September 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/asakosophia/status/1171011846993694721
I’m not comfortable with the homophobic narrative on #TheBlockAU and seeing an ocker white dude trying to explain his way out of things is making things even worse.
— @susanrubans@aus.social (@susan_rubans) September 9, 2019
He basically just said “I’m sorry you felt…” That’s not an apology#theblock #TheBlockAU
— TL (@TroyLester) September 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/asakosophia/status/1171005483643129856
Geez Scott Cam couldn’t have handled that much worse. Can’t admit being wrong then gets aggressive to try and force an apology from the people he offended #TheBlock
— Mickey (@Michaells83) September 9, 2019
Holy heck Scott Cam’s fragile male (hetero) ego is on full display tonight on #TheBlockAU
— Jess (@jessdotceee) September 9, 2019
Oooooohhhh I see Scott cam was the victim all along. .. Ahhh right I got it now, sorry Scott #TheBlockAU
— Ben Moore (@gem_saloon) September 9, 2019
and YET he STILL wasn’t happy with that, and had to insist that mitch and mark apologise to HIM for the apparent audacity of being offended by his words. if there’s anything that reveals the insincerity of the initial non-apology, it’s that#TheBlock #TheBlockAU
— Justina Ashman 🌈 (@justinaashman) September 9, 2019
Throughout the entire segment, cherry-picked snippets from the past eight production weeks/twenty full episodes of TV were spliced in to bolster Cam’s arguments against Mitch & Mark, demonising the couple and mounting a fairly blatant attempt to get the audience to side with the host over them.
‘Course they didn’t bother to include clips from the utterly insane moment that saw them, and only them, whisked away from The Block to meet Kylie Minogue in a throwaway moment that didn’t get them any advantages or contribute to the show’s narrative in any way.
I still think the most homophobic thing on #TheBlockAU #TheBlock was having Mark and Mitch, be the only couple to meet Kylie Minogue
— James (@JamesorusRex) September 9, 2019
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why it was them – and not, say, Jesse & Mel or Andy & Deb – that got thrust into that segment.
And yet it’s the host in the high-vis that needs the apology after all this, of course.
Of course it is.
Why would we expect anything else.
