One Nation deputy leader Barnaby Joyce says there are no hard feelings between himself and his farm dog Stella after an unexpected on-air outburst during a live television interview became one of Australia’s most talked-about political moments of the week.

Joyce unexpectedly interrupted an interview with ABC’s 7.30 to shout “Sit down!” after Stella began barking loudly beneath the deck where he was conducting the live cross from his rural New South Wales property. The interruption briefly halted the political discussion before Joyce apologised and resumed answering questions.

The exchange quickly spread across television broadcasts and social media, with many viewers focusing more on the unscripted encounter than the political issues being discussed during the interview.

A day later, Joyce returned to television to assure Australians that the incident had not damaged his relationship with his canine companion.

“The dog still loves me,” Joyce said, explaining Stella greeted him affectionately afterwards and again the following morning.

“The dog is my farm dog and it had gone right underneath the deck where we were and just lost it. It was barking incessantly.”

Joyce added that people unfamiliar with working dogs might misunderstand what had happened.

“Farm dogs, working dogs, we do actually yell at them,” he said, insisting there had been no mistreatment and dismissing suggestions the moment reflected anything more than the realities of life on a rural property.

The veteran politician admitted he had become genuinely frustrated during the interview, saying Stella’s persistent barking made it almost impossible to concentrate while responding to questions being asked live on national television.

“I wasn’t a bit frustrated, I was totally frustrated,” Joyce said, recreating the moment and explaining the barking was occurring directly beneath his feet throughout the interview.

Although the interruption generated widespread amusement online, the interview itself centred on far more serious political issues.

ABC presenter Sarah Ferguson was questioning Joyce about One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s recent overseas trip, including criticism surrounding her appearance on a podcast with British far-right figure Tommy Robinson.

Ferguson also pressed Joyce on whether his decision to leave the National Party and join One Nation reflected an acceptance of more hardline political positions, including accusations of intolerance levelled at the party by its critics.

It was during one of those exchanges that Stella’s barking interrupted the interview, producing a moment that quickly overshadowed the political discussion itself.

Pauline Hanson later defended her deputy, saying the incident simply demonstrated the unpredictable nature of live television.

Sharing the clip on social media, Hanson described Joyce as authentic and said viewers appreciated seeing politicians behave like ordinary people rather than carefully managed public figures.

When later shown the footage, Hanson laughed and remarked that moments like this remind Australians that politicians are human.

Joyce himself also attempted to inject humour into the situation.

Speaking to media the following day, he joked that his dog had probably received more political coverage than many elected representatives during the week.

He also quipped that while his relationship with Stella remained excellent, his relationship with the ABC was “not so good”, continuing the light-hearted tone that followed the viral incident.

The episode is far from the first time dogs have unexpectedly become part of Joyce’s public profile.

More than a decade ago, while serving as Australia’s agriculture minister, Joyce made international headlines after threatening to have Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, removed from Australia because they had entered the country without the required quarantine permits.

That dispute attracted global media attention and became one of the most memorable episodes of Joyce’s ministerial career, with his warning that the dogs should return to the United States or face euthanasia widely reported around the world.

Stella, however, appears to have become something of a celebrity in her own right.

Media reports describe her as a Staffy-Border Collie cross, well suited to life on Joyce’s farm, where working dogs routinely assist with livestock and property management. Joyce argued that people accustomed to rural life would recognise his raised voice as a normal command used with working animals rather than an act of aggression.

The viral clip also illustrates how easily modern political coverage can shift away from substantive policy issues.

While the original interview focused on One Nation’s direction, Hanson’s overseas engagements and questions surrounding the party’s political positioning, much of the public discussion afterwards revolved around Joyce’s interaction with his dog instead.

Communications experts have frequently observed that unexpected moments during live broadcasts often attract greater public attention than the issues politicians intend to discuss, particularly when they reveal unscripted and relatable aspects of public figures.

For Joyce, whose political career has often featured colourful remarks and headline-grabbing moments, the Stella incident appears destined to join a long list of memorable episodes that have helped shape his public image.

Despite the online jokes and widespread sharing of the clip, Joyce insists there is nothing more to the story.

According to the One Nation MP, Stella remains as affectionate as ever, the interruption was simply the product of a noisy working dog doing what working dogs do, and Australians should be paying far more attention to the policy debates affecting the country than to a few seconds of barking during a television interview.