“This is 2020, not the 1950s.” The people of Western Australia are petitioning to fire Perth’s Lord Mayor following his transphobic comments.
A petition to sack Lord Mayor of Perth Basil Zempilas has gained a lot of traction following his transphobic comments on 6PR Radio.
The petition has gained almost four times more signatures than the number of votes that elected him into office in October (1,855 votes).
The people of Western Australia have spoken and they are asking WA Premier Mark McGowan to give Basil Zempilas the boot. The petition was started by the Perth Scorpions Volleyball Club and, in its first 48 hours, gained over 8,000 signatures.
Hey @BasilZempilas, what was with the homophobia and transphobia on the @6PRbreakfast this morning? I'm utterly revolted that you're in a leadership position of a capital city telling LGBT+ people that their lived experience isn't real because you've decided that it isn't.
— Bri (@eatmeetswest) October 28, 2020
The petition was created in response to transphobic comments made by Zempilas on 6PR radio. “If you’ve got a penis, mate, you are a bloke. If you’ve got a vagina, you are a woman. Game over,” the Lord Mayor stated.
The commentary has been dubbed “hateful, bigoted, and appalling” by many Western Australian citizens. Zempilas later apologized for his inappropriate comments, however critics still weren’t happy with his excuse. The Major stated that he has since learnt “that this is indeed how people live their lives. I didn’t mean to cause any offence. One of our jobs as broadcasters is to entertain, I was trying to be funny – it was not funny – it was inappropriate and I apologise.”
Zempilas also added he “forgot” he was Lord Mayor for a second there. However, many remain outraged that someone in this position of power would feel openly comfortable to say such things.
basil zempilas 11 days after being elected pic.twitter.com/DbIGrlZV1x
— Amy Louise Doherty (@amyloudoherty) October 28, 2020
“This is not how a Lord Mayor should be acting, this is not how any person in power or not in power even, should be portraying any other human being regardless of sex, gender, sexuality, race,” a spokesperson from the Perth Scorpions stated. “This is 2020, not the 1950s. The Premier should be getting involved with this and some action needs to be taken, his pathetic excuse of an apology is not good enough.”
Why is this just the most Basil Zempilas Notorious Perth Weirdo-Turned-Mayor thing ever https://t.co/6B3tJfmL1D
— Georgina Carson 👩🔬🏳️🌈 (@GeorginaRCarson) October 28, 2020
