Comedian Dave Hughes has mocked convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson after reports emerged that she has been approved to receive taxpayer-subsidised Ozempic injections while serving her sentence at Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Patterson, held in near-permanent solitary confinement, was reportedly prescribed the weight-loss drug because she cannot exercise, prompting outrage from prison sources and the public who questioned why a convicted killer's weight was a management priority. Hughes suggested she simply request smaller meals rather than use the medication.

Patterson, 51, is serving a minimum 33-year non-parole sentence for murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and for the attempted murder of Heather's husband Ian, after serving them beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023. The Ozempic prescription reportedly costs around $25 a month under subsidy compared with up to $700 unsubsidised, with authorities saying it was issued on clear medical grounds. Patterson is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal against her conviction, while prosecutors are separately appealing to have her sentence increased to a full life term without parole.