Aboriginal elder Joy Murphy gets apology after she was dumped from Barack ... trends now
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An Aboriginal elder who was dumped from giving a Welcome to Country at Barack Obama's highly anticipated speech in Melbourne has received an apology from event organisers.
Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy, 78, was set to perform the welcome ceremony for the ex-US President's speech in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Ahead of the event, she asked organisers if she could bring a support person and a cultural gift for Mr Obama.
However, the shocked elder says she was then told she was being 'too difficult' by the organisers, the Growth Faculty, who axed her from the event.
Growth Faculty have since apologised to Aunty Joy.
'Growth Faculty has apologised to Aunty Joy that last night's ceremony could not be changed,' the organisers said in a statement on Thursday morning.
'Aunty Joy has accepted Growth Faculty's invitation to perform Welcome to Country at a business lunch taking place in Melbourne today
'Due to security requirements, the organisation was unable to accommodate last-minute changes to the agreed upon ceremony [on Wednesday].'
Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy, 78, was set to perform the Welcome to Country ceremony for Barack Obama's event
The row comes as Mr Obama and his wife Michelle arrived in Melbourne by private jet, with the couple sipping coffees as they climbed into their motorcade.
In a statement at the time, Aunty Joy said she had never been 'treated or spoken to in this way'.
'I have been shocked and distressed by the way I have been treated by event organisers,' she said.
'I am 78 years of age. I have never been treated or spoken to in this way in the past.
The row comes as Mr Obama and his wife Michelle arrived in Melbourne by private jet
'I do not want this to be a reflection on President Obama. I am a leader of the Wurundjeri Nation. I asked to be treated as an equal.'
The Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Corporation also slammed the organisers and described their actions as 'a deep
