Jul 22, 2026 – 12.25pmBarnaby Joyce has apologised for barking at his dog on live TV, but not before footage of his outburst at Stella, the staffie-border collie, went viral globally, sparking mirth and shock in Europe, across the Middle East and in South and North America.The clip of Joyce bellowing “sit down” at Stella during a tense interview on the ABC on Monday night triggered social media memes and a flood of international headlines, spanning the UK’s Independent and Telegraph, Al Jazeera, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, CNN, India’s Firstpost and major Asia-Pacific mastheads.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles