Comedian Dan Ilic and former ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied slammed news outlets this week in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, claiming white privilege has influenced how the gunman has been portrayed to the public.
Mr Ilic, who hosted ABC’s The Hungry Beast, spoke of his frustrations with the reporting on Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, 64, on The Drum on Tuesday night.
Paddock killed 59 people and injured more than 500 when he fired hundreds of bullets into a crowd of people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival from his sniper’s nest in the Mandalay Bay hotel on Sunday.
Comedian Dan Ilic claims news outlets won’t call Las Vegas shooter a terrorist
Yassmin Abdel-Magied also hit out at news outlets in the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting on Sunday
Stephen Paddock, 64, killed 59 people and injured more than 500 when he fired hundreds of bullets into a crowd of people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival from his sniper’s nest in the Mandalay Bay hotel
Mr Ilic told the current affairs program he does not agree with how Paddock’s attack has not been labelled a terroristic act.
‘The immediate thought for a lot of people when they hear a shooting like this go down, is they wonder and panic if it’s a brown person,’ he said.
‘If it’s a brown person they will call it an act of terror, but for this gentleman they basically labelled him as a man who loved to spend time on his own and listen to country music.’
‘This is the very definition of white privilege.’
In a similar tone, Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied protested the Paddock’s portrayal to the public on Twitter.
‘If we treated white men like brown Muslims, news wouldn’t be talk of gun laws. It would be pundits asking what makes white men so violent,’ she wrote.
‘White men aren’t like Muslims, you might think. Yeah you’re right. We don’t get the luxury of being treated as individuals,’ she continued.
Mr Ilic, who hosted ABC’s The Hungry Beast, spoke of his frustrations with the reporting on Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, 64, to The Drum on Tuesday night
‘If we treated white men like brown Muslims, news wouldn’t be talk of gun laws. It would be pundits asking what makes white men so violent,’ she wrote
The comments from Mr Ilic and Ms Abdel-Magied left viewers divided
‘White men aren’t like Muslims, you might think. Yeah you’re right. We don’t get the luxury of being treated as individuals,’ she continued
If white men and Muslims were treated the same, news outlets ‘would be taking ‘representatives’ of white men to task, on TV, radio, in print, asking why they don’t apologise for actions of white men,’ she said.
The comments from Mr Ilic and Ms Abdel-Magied left viewers divided.
While several people agreed, numerous commenters slammed Mr Ilic’s view on the issue.
‘What a foolish, ridiculous thing for this person to say. I am astounded that the ABC isn’t completely embarrassed by this. The worst mass shooting in U.S. history and this virtue signalling comedian talks white privilege?’ one man said.
‘There is no evidence this guy was a terrorist because there was no political motive we know of. Nothing to do with his skin colour,’ another wrote.
While several people agreed, numerous commenters slammed Mr Ilic’s view on the issue