James Mustapic admits he does feel some guilt in roasting celebrities. Photo / TVNZ
James Mustapic admits he does feel some guilt in roasting celebrities. Photo / TVNZ
A string of local celebrities face the scorn of comedian James Mustapic in his new TVNZ show - but he admits confronting people is not naturally in his wheelhouse.
In Abandonment Issues on TVNZ on Demand, Mustapic tracks down a number of notable New Zealand celebrities from the noughties - including New Zealand Idol winner Ben Lummis and Target host Brooke Howard-Smith - to grill them over their experiences and the moments that left an impression on him.
Speaking to ZM podcast Kita and Anita's Happy Hour, hosted by Drag Race stars Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it, Mustapic said it was a challenge to find all the celebrities.
"Some of them were not happy with me. It was tricky to find these people - and some of them are not vaccinated. A lot of NZ celebrities for some reason are not vaccinated."
While most celebrities were game to take part in the show, Mustapic revealed that former Sticky TV and C4 host Drew Neemia was the only one who didn't want to take part in the show.
"He hates me very much. I've made fun of his music career too many times. He has blocked me on every platform. There is an episode about him but he did not want to be a part of it."
James Mustapic takes on TV psychics in his new show, Abandonment Issues. Photo / Supplied
Others were happy to get over their past confrontations with Mustapic to feature on the show. The show's second episode sees him reconnecting with former Sensing Murder star Sue Nicholson, who he'd had a feud with after making fun of her on Seven Sharp.
He told Kita and Anita that the two are friendly now, and she's even started joking with him.
"She recently texted me to say 'You're lucky I didn't smack you one like Will Smith'."
It didn't stop Mustapic from roasting her several times during the episode.
"I'm not sure she's seen the episode yet. I'm hoping she didn't know how to use TVNZ on Demand," he joked.
He did admit to feeling guilt over some of the jokes he had planned for the various celebs after meeting them - especially as they had to play down the comedy angle when pitching to them to get them involved.
"We definitely misled a few people. Most of them, once they met me and we got a bit of a rapport and they got the vibe, it was fine, but some of them we had to rewrite a few episodes a few different times."
Despite roasting the celebrities, Mustapic admitted he is not fond of confrontation and had to embrace it "for the love of the art". However, he is banking on some backlash to help with the show's renewal chances.
"I'm hoping to upset at least one [celebrity] - just to get a season two storyline."
Kita and Anita's Happy Hour is out every Wednesday. You can follow it on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
