Stan Grant says his 'soul hurts' and addresses racist trolls who forced him to ... trends now
Stan Grant shook with emotion and had tears in his eyes as he said his 'soul hurts' in a powerful goodbye speech after presenting his last ever Q+A episode on Monday night.
After just 10 months in the role, the Indigenous broadcaster announced on Friday he was taking leave after being subjected to 'relentless racial filth', and accused the ABC of 'institutional failure' after no one offered him support.
Speaking directly to camera at the end of the program, he said 'I've had to learn that endurance is not always strength.
'Sometimes, strength is knowing when to say stop. And to those who have sent messages of support - thank you so much. But I'll be OK.'
Grant said in a column last Friday that he was stepping down after racial abuse which had ramped up since he appeared on coverage of King Charles' coronation.
Stan Grant (pictured) has given an emotional goodbye speech on his last ever Q+A episode after stepping down as host of the ABC show after being subjected to 'racist trolling'
He addressed the trolls in his speech on Monday. 'To those who have abused me and my family, I would just say - if your aim was to hurt me, well, you've succeeded.
'And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I must have given you so much cause to hate me so much, to target me and my family, to make threats against me,' he said.
'I am down right now. I am. But I will get back up. And you can come at me again, and I will meet you with the love of my people.
'My people can teach the world to love. As Martin Luther King Jr said of his struggle, "We will wear you down with our capacity to love all."'
Grant said he was 'not walking away for a while because of racism - we get that far too often. I'm not walking away because of social media hatred.
'I need a break from the media. I feel like I'm part of the problem. And I need to ask myself how, or if, we can do it better.'
After just 10 months in the role, Grant (pictured with his wife Tracey Holmes) announced he was taking leave after being subjected to 'relentless racial filth', and accused the ABC of 'institutional failure' after no one offered him support
The first question from the Q+A audience on Monday night was about Grant.
'I have been disgusted by the hatred and abuse that has been fired at Stan Grant because of his colour and the articulation of his professional essence.
'I ask the panel: What needs to happen to stop hate speech, hate culture and hate acceptance from continuing to be a fabric of Australia,' the questioner asked.
'When you see someone like Stan, what's happening to him, or were watching (Indigenous footballer) Adam Goodes getting booed ... that has a ripple effect,' David Pocock, independent ACT senator and former Wallabies captain said.
'We've got a long way to go. And it's going to take leadership, mature debate, but look around. We can be better. We have to believe that we can be.'
Stan Grant's broadcaster wife Tracey Holmes (ringed in red circle) joined hundreds of ABC staff in a protest against racism after he announced he would quit hosting Q&A
Grant's ex-wife, SBS journalist Karla Grant (pictured left), and his daughter, NITV journalist Lowanna (right), were also front-and-centre at the protests
Infectious disease expert turned Labor member for Higgins, Michelle Ananda-Rajah, agreed, saying 'There's no place in our community for vilification based on any attribute, whether it be the colour of your skin, your sexuality, your gender.'
Zoe McKenzie, the Liberal member for Flinders, thanked Grant for his 'grace and your kindness and your continuing openness and your love towards
