Now Lidia Thorpe’s dad calls her “racist”: Firebrand’s senator’s father’s extraordinary spray – as she blows up at the prime minister’s insult and complains she can’t go out without being “harassed by racists”

Lidia Thorpe’s father says she is ‘a very racist person’
Roy Illingworth said the power has gone to her head
The independent senator is a controversial figure

By Ben Talintyre For Daily Mail Australia

Contents

Now Lidia Thorpe’s dad calls her “racist”: Firebrand’s senator’s father’s extraordinary spray – as she blows up at the prime minister’s insult and complains she can’t go out without being “harassed by racists”Read Lidia Thorpe’s full statement Share or comment on this article:

published: 02:59 EDT, Apr 20, 2023 | Updated: 05:28 EDT, Apr 20, 2023

Controversial independent senator Lidia Thorpe has been given a spray by her own father who dismissed her as a “very racist person” during an extraordinary shift.

Roy Illingworth claimed that the power of the native senator had ‘gone to her head’ in an interview with Sky News Australia’s Andrew Bolt on Thursday, after she berated visitors to Melbourne’s strip club at 3am on Sunday and told them ‘ called white c***s’. attacking the size of their genitals.

“The way I see it, the way she is and the way she’s changed over the years, she’s a very racist person,” said Illingworth, who is of Anglo-Irish descent.

“She doesn’t acknowledge her white side. I’m a little disappointed in her demeanor lately.

“Because, after all, she has both an English and an Irish background, the convict side of the English.”

Polarizing Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has received an extraordinary spray from her father Roy Illingworth (pictured), who claimed his daughter had become ‘a very racist person’ in an interview with Sky News Australia’s Andrew Bolt on Thursday

He said power had gone to his daughter after she assaulted strip club patrons in Melbourne at 3am on Sunday, calling them “white bastards” and attacking the size of their genitals.

Ms Thorpe has been widely criticized after the publication of footage of her yelling at a group of men outside Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club in Melbourne – including by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling her to ‘get some help’.

In a statement on Thursday evening, Ms Thorpe said she ‘cannot go out without being harassed by racists’ and said this is an example of the same ‘racism that Blak people face every day in this colony’.

“Saturday night I was challenged and I stood up for myself. Not one person was injured,” Ms Thorpe said in a statement.

“The story should be about the racists brutally harassing a senator.

“The story is that I can’t go out without being harassed by racists.”

Mr Albanese suggested that Ms Thorpe’s behavior had ‘obvious issues that need to be addressed in terms of her health issues’.

“These are not the actions of someone who should normally participate in society, let alone a senator.

And Lidia must be very aware of the way this behavior is perceived. I hope she gets some kind of support.’

Ms Thorpe responded to the criticism saying she ‘can’t go out without being harassed by racists’ and said this is an example of the same ‘racism that Blak people face every day in this colony’

The PM urged Senator Lidia Thorpe to get ‘some support’ for ‘health issues’ in the wake of her explosive strip club collapse

Ms Thorpe took aim at the Prime Minister’s comments on Thursday, saying his comments reflect an old racist and misogynistic mindset.

“Saying I need ‘mental help’ is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women,” the independent senator said.

While Ms Thorpe claimed she was wooed by the men, Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed that the rogue senator had walked up to white patrons of the strip club and accused them of stealing her land earlier in the evening.

The collapse of the strip club is just the latest in a string of controversial incidents involving the senator in recent months, including temporarily halting the Mardi Gras parade in protest at police.

Mr. Albanese said it was becoming a “rehearsal exercise” for the senator.

“You know, the Mardi Gras event where she was in front of a truck, that was actually a truck for Twenty10, a youth service that takes in young gays and lesbians, a service of my electorate,” the prime minister said.

“Why anyone would lay in front of that truck to get attention is beyond my understanding and I hope she gets some sort of support.”

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Senator Thorpe to comment on this story.

CCTV obtained by Daily Mail Australia showed Senator Lidia Thorpe returning several times for more, including to film the men (pictured)

Read Lidia Thorpe’s full statement

I sit in the Senate as a Blak Sovereign mother and grandmother who is not afraid to challenge the government and fight to improve the lives of First Nations People in this country. This is in the interest of all people living on this land. When I talk about a Treaty, I’m talking about a path to peace that will benefit all of us, white and white, colonizer and colonized. I understand that sometimes this means I will be targeted, but I remain hopeful that the media will see through superficial attacks and start reporting on the real problems affecting people in this country.

Isn’t it interesting that there were a hundred stories of me responding to racist harassment and yet not one, not a single story about Saturday, the 32nd anniversary of the Royal Commission’s report into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody being handed over to the government.

On Saturday night I was challenged and stood up for myself. No one was injured. The story is supposed to be about the racists brutally harassing a senator. The story is that I can’t go out without being harassed by racists. This is the racism that Blak people face every day in this colony.

The racism where children are being removed in record time. The racism that prevents the government from implementing the recommendations of the Blak Deaths In Custody Report, that sees our people killed by the police, and that locks our little children, some as young as ten years old, in cold prison cells. Meanwhile, the racists are free to roam and harass Blak women without consequence.

There is a history of white men in power using the media to attack and demonize Blak people who stand up against racism. They did the same with Adam Goodes and Heritier Lumumba when they called out racism. Saying I need “mental help” is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative that was used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, especially Blak women.

I am disappointed by the opportunism of politicians in Canberra – including the Prime Minister – who use this to bring me down, but more than that I am encouraged and inspired by the hundreds of messages of support I have received from all corners of the country.

While the Prime Minister and others have used this to try to undermine my progress, I have been busy in the community talking to First Nations leaders about solutions to the problems our people face every day.

I will speak about the work I do as a Senator, both in Canberra and on the ground, in an exclusive interview with Tom Tanuki that will be available in the coming days.