The much-anticipated showdown between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and The Project host Waleed Aly on Thursday divided viewers, with some criticising the Liberal leader's body language and tone while others felt he stood up to the scrutiny well.
Mr Morrison locked horns with The Project host, who had accused the Prime Minister of trying to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment for political gain.
It was a serious charge in the wake of the Christchurch mosque massacre allegedly committed by an Australian white nationalist, and one that the Prime Minister strongly refuted.
Leaning back in an armchair in a suit and open-necked shirt, Mr Morrison seemed exasperated at times against a formally-dressed Aly, who craned forward as he asked the questions.
The two continually interrupted each other, with Aly saying at one points: 'I feel like it is very difficult to get through a sentence at the moment.’
If the presenter was feeling frustrated he wasn't alone, with many viewers taking to social media to express their irritation with the Prime Minister.
'Scott Morrison is coming across as rude and bad tempered. This is not playing well for him,' one viewer posted on Twitter.
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Outraged viewers have slammed Scott Morrison following a heated standoff between the Prime Minister and Waleed Aly
Mr Morrison locked horns with The Project host Thursday night, as he took on questions about anti-Muslim sentiment in politics, which led to heated moments where he would speak over the host
If the presenter was feeling frustrated he wasn't alone, with many viewers taking to social media to express their irritation with the premier
A Twitter user shells out criticism and labels Mr Morrison a 'trainwreck' during the interview
Another said: 'This is a trainwreck for ScoMo'.
One viewer added that Mr Morrison had come across as 'patronising and passive aggressive.'
While Mr Morrison may have appeared fired-up at times, some viewers praised him for his composure.
'Waleed tried to dig up dirt on our gracious PM who tonight clarified that he stands for uniting, not dividing the Australian people,' one person tweeted.
'But the same can’t be said for Waleed. Its not about composure. It’s about cohesion.'
Another tweeted: 'ScottMorrison did way better than I anticipated. I was disappointed in Waleed's performance though.'
Another commented that Aly was trying to undermine the Prime Minister but said that 'the PM handled himself just about as well as someone could in that situation. We actually have a no-nonsense, straight talking, intelligent PM.'
Mr Morrison found himself hard pressed after Aly asked him if the Coalition and Australia more generally had a problem with Islamophobia.
Aly listed off a number of politicians who had made controversial comments in the past - including Tony Abbott who said 'Islamophobia never killed anyone', and Senator Fraser Anning's 'final solution' speech in parliament.
Mr Morrison appeared to avoid answering the question numerous times before he said: 'If your question to me is do I think that every single statement by
