Damage done: The Project crossed live to Santa in the North Pole, but viewers still weren't happy.

One angry father of a five-year-old protested on Facebook: "Well I hope someone on TV told kitty when she was five years old like she has done to my child."

When asked why his young child was watching The Project in the first place, he replied: "He wasn't, he was walking past the lounge room and his ears pricked up when he heard someone on telly talking about Santa. I turned it off ASAP but he already saw it."

A mother had a similar experience, demanding an apology: "What a piss poor cover up on The Project tonight. Santa's comment was aimed at the adults and not the children. Damage is done and Xmas for my kids will never be the same. Why doesn't Kitty show her face and apologise to Australian children!!!"

Another viewer agreed: "Pretty terrible attempt of damage control with Santa. Was it really needed? It's not up to the media to keep cultural traditions in check. You could have spent the time on a story about how slavery has never been as bad as it is now. Or how billions of people are not as fortunate as us Aussies. Or that while we scramble to buy things that are made by people earning less a day than the cost of a coffee with money we don't have there is other things that make Christmas a special time of year."