Thursday 23 June 2022 02:08 AM Waleed Aly slammed over The Project interview with Lidia Thorpe trends now
Waleed Aly has been slammed by hard-left activists over what they called a 'condescending and ignorant' interview with Greens senator Lidia Thorpe on The Project.
Aly asked Senator Thorpe if she had given up her First Nations sovereignty by pledging allegiance to the Queen when she entered Parliament.
The line of questioning enraged some viewers, who took to social media to brand him 'offensive' with others calling the interview a 'train wreck'.
Waleed Aly (pictured at the 62nd TV Week Logie Awards on June 19 on the Gold Coast) has come under fire online
Aly interviewed Senator Thorpe on Tuesday night after she backed Greens leader Adam Bandt's controversial refusal to stand alongside the national flag during a press conference in Sydney on Monday.
He never appears with the flag which he calls 'hurtful' because it reminds some Aboriginal people of British colonisation.
Senator Thorpe said the Australian flag 'does not represent me or my people' and insisted 'it has no permission to be here' because there has been no treaty with Indigenous people.
'We have never ceded our sovereignty as First Nations people in this nation ever, ever, ever,' she added.
Aly challenged her on this point, asking whether she ceded her sovereignty when she pledged allegiance to the Queen.
Waleed Aly has been branded 'condescending and ignorant' over his interview with Greens senator Lidia Thorpe on The Project. Pictured: Some of the Twitter reaction
'But you're ceding it right now by being a Senator aren't you,' he said.
'You're saying ''I submit to this, I become part of the system.'' I understand that may not be your personal politics but that's what that act means.'
Under section 42 of the constitution, a politician has to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch before taking their seat in Parliament.
Senator Thorpe said she had to take the oath in order to get into Parliament and advocate on behalf of her 'people'.
Senator Thorpe is pictured in Parliament
'I am here for my people, and I will sacrifice swearing allegiance to the coloniser to get into the media like I am right now, to get into the parliament like I am every day,' she said.
'To make this country put a mirror up to itself and ask, who are we? Where do we come from and where are we going?'
Aly then asked Senator Thorpe to respond to former senator Derryn Hinch's claim that rejecting the Australia flag was a 'bad tactical move' because most Aussies don't support such a hard-line stance.
She replied: 'Well, you are comparing a middle-aged, white, privileged guy, to a grassroots Blak Senator who comes from the frontline activist space.
'You're gonna believe who thinks he knows best, which is part of the problem in this country.
'Believe a Blak Senator who left school at 14, who survived family violence, who survived public housing, three kids, five grandkids... I'll leave it up to your viewers to decide... who has the authority to speak
