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What happened when Rosie Waterland questioned Josh Thomas about rejecting her best friend on Tinder.

 

Josh Thomas is one of Australia’s best-known comedians, actors and TV writers.

His show, Please Like Me, is one of the few Aussie dramedies that has managed to walk the tightrope between critical success and fan favoritism, all while staying on the air for four seasons and garnering international acclaim.

When The Binge team invited Josh onto the TV podcast, it’s safe to say that expectations were sky high.

He is, after all, a creative genius who had already been profiled by the likes of Vanity Fair,but the on-air team were prepped and ready to roll, confident that nothing could go wrong.

Until host Rosie Waterland stepped in.

Listen to Rosie try and set Josh Thomas up with her best friend (post continues after audio): 

During the interview, Josh spoke happily about the fourth season of Please Like Me, which follows his character, also named Josh, as he navigates life after being dumped by his girlfriend, moves back into the family home to care for his mentally ill mother and realizes he is gay.

The subject matter may sound a tad heavy, but in reality it’s warm and funny and wonderfully witty.

We could have talked about this Aussie comedic gem all day,but for some reason that, along with the popularity of Crocs will never be explained, Rosie thought it was the perfect time to bring up her best friend’s failed Tinder attempt.

Now, I’ve tried to erase this moment from my memory, but it turns out there’s not enough alcohol, drugs or alien technology easily accessible to achieve that goal and so, in the spirit of emotional therapy, this is what went down.

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“My best friend is going to kill me, but he was on Tinder and you came up. And he sent you a message that said ‘please like me’,” Rosie began, right at the moment Josh was probably about to drop a gem about how he’s one of the few Australian writers to crack the American market.

“And I just thought, I bet 100 guys a day see Josh Thomas on Tinder and message that same thing. I wanted to ask you if that happens?”

Josh Thomas in Please Like Me.

This was the moment that Josh could have just walked away. He could have chosen not to engage in an intimate on-air discussion about gentleman contacting him on a dating app.

But he chose door number two.

“Wait, why didn’t I reply to him?" he asked, suddenly dropping his polished press-rounds persona with the precision of a fisherman who's just lost his prize catch.

“What’s his name? I’m searching him now.”

“His name is Jacob," replied Rosie, dropping all pretense that we were supposed to be conducting a professional interview.  "And he has a big crush on you. He was devastated that you didn’t respond. It could have been the love story of our time.

“He’s drinking Veuve, is he rich?” asked Josh, demonstrating the very best way to kick off a Tinder relationship.

Josh Thomas on Please Like Me. Probably not being set up on Tinder by a stranger.

“Why don’t you try it with Jacob, and if that doesn’t work out come back on the show and we’ll hook you up," said Rosie, who at this point was fully channeling the matchmaker from  Fiddler on the Roof and no doubt pictering herself giving the toast at Josh and Jacob's wedding. Bottle of Veuve in hand.

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And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, Josh signed off the interview with this little nugget of information.

“Thanks. And you know who is going to love this interview? My boyfriend.”

Look, it's safe to say no one walked away from this interview unscathed.

Josh might have a little explaining to do when he gets home tonight. Jacob will have to spend his days ignoring Rosie's phone calls while cradling his giant bottle of Veuve. The Binge producer has given up a life of podcast editing and has decamped to a bunker in Guam.

But the real victim here is journalism itself.

What you should have taken away from this interview is that Please Like Me, season four, is back on ABC this week. Josh and his friends realize that it's time to grow up and they do it in the most hilarious fashion.

Now, let us never speak of this again.

Love TV? Don't miss Rosie Waterland and Laura Brodnik on The Binge, it's a smart, funny take on the best screen moments of the week. 

Please Like Me will air on Wednesday at 9.30pm on ABC. You can catch up on all the episodes on ABC iview.