Lidia Thorpe’s story about why she posted a photo of herself wearing a Hamas-style headband has taken another turn, as it is referred to police and a second taunting tweet she deleted resurfaces.
The independent Victorian senator posted the provocative selfie to X on Tuesday, but deleted it just hours later, telling Daily Mail Australia she didn’t realise the headband was linked to the terrorist group.
In the photo, Ms Thorpe – who openly supports Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel – could be seen smiling while holding a mug and wearing a green headband that said ‘I love chocolate milk’ in Arabic script.
The caption, alongside two chocolate bar emojis, read: ‘I wholeheartedly support this message. I hope you do too!’
One critic, activist Drew Pavlou, said: ‘This is a dog whistle, the headband is a piss take about chocolate milk but it’s designed to look exactly like the green headbands worn by Hamas fighters.’
Ms Thorpe’s account posted two responses to Mr Pavlou before she blocked him – one featuring three chocolate bar emojis with no text, and a second reply taunting him: ‘Or baiting predictable reactionaries like you?’
That message – which has now been deleted – appeared to fly in the face of Ms Thorpe’s original explanation that the selfie was an innocent mistake. She has now claimed the inflammatory response to Mr Pavlou was actually written by a staffer.
Daily Mail Australia can also confirm the Australian Federal Police has received a ‘report of crime’ over the photo.
Pictured: The now-deleted photo Lidia Thorpe posted on X on Tuesday afternoon
Pictured: Drew Pavlou’s reply to Ms Thorpe’s controversial selfie on Tuesday. She replied with three chocolate bar emojis
There is no suggestion Ms Thorpe committed a crime, just that the selfie has been referred to the police.
In a statement on Thursday, Ms Thorpe said: ‘As I have already said, I was not aware of the resemblance between this headband, which says ‘I love chocolate milk’, and items worn by Hamas members. When I became aware of this, I immediately chose to delete the post and have apologised to anyone who was upset.
‘The responses from my account to the user that Daily Mail Australia is referring to were not written or authorised by me, and I wasn’t aware of those responses before they were deleted, along with the initial post.
‘Our usual approval processes were not followed in relation to those responses, and our office is reviewing our processes around staff commenting on my behalf.
‘I strongly refute any suggestion that I would intentionally seek to display any sort of prohibited symbol. That’s a very serious and potentially defamatory suggestion to make, which is false.
‘To be very clear, I do not support violence committed by Hamas. And I do not advocate for violence of any sort in Palestine or anywhere. I continue to advocate for peace and a ceasefire.
‘And again I will reiterate, this post was intended as a lighthearted post, with Arabic speaking people as the intended audience.’
In response to her ‘baiting’ comment, Mr Pavlou wrote: ‘The only reactionary here is you. Baiting people with dog whistles about supporting a terrorist group that tortures and executes Palestinian opponents.’
Another post from Lidia Thorpe’s X account suggested she uploaded the selfie to ‘bait’ her critics (pictured)
Mr Pavlou told Daily Mail Australia he was shocked that the senator appeared to double down on her selfie once she was called out.
‘I was one of the first people to criticise her – I saw it within minutes of her account posting it.’
In her original statement to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, Ms Thorpe explained she was gifted the headband and did not realise it resembled garments worn by Hamas.
‘This was intended as a lighthearted post about chocolate milk to the many Arabic speaking people I have met and worked with in my career,’ she said.
‘When I realised that people drew a connection that was not at all intended and became upset, I deleted the post.
‘I didn’t mean to cause harm or distress, and I apologise to those who were upset by it.
‘My advocacy around Palestine is about pushing for peace and an end to the violence we’re seeing every day.’
She then called on the Australian government to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and pledged to focus on those issues.
When she first posted the photo on Tuesday, she was heavily criticised by X users who accused her of ‘dressing up’ as a terrorist.
Others slammed the post as offensive and divisive.
Ms Thorpe is an Indigenous activist who was a member of the Greens until 2023 when she became an independent representing the Blak Sovereign Movement.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk