Lidia Thorpe gets life ban after strip club stoush
Lidia Thorpe says 'it's sad people are utilising whatever they can to drag me down'. Photo: AAP
Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has been banned for life from a Melbourne strip club – and earned condemnation from all sides of parliament – after a foul-mouthed stoush with a group of men, including taunting one for having a “small penis”.
The independent senator’s clash was filmed early on Sunday outside Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club in the inner-northern suburb Brunswick.
“All I want to say to the black brothers there and anyone that we’re fighting,” she said, “any black man that stands with the f—ing white little c— like that, youse can all get f—ed too.”
In response to one man calling her a “racist dog” she said: “You know what I say to you? Small penis, small penis.”
Maxine’s general manager David Ross said Senator Thorpe’s behaviour was “just unacceptable” and she had been banned from the club for life.
“Maxine’s … prides itself on providing a relaxed environment and fostering harmony between patrons of all genders and from all ethnic and religious backgrounds; a fact the staff and dancers are very proud of,” Mr Ross said in the letter sent to the senator.
“With this in mind, and after reviewing security footage and speaking with staff and security, I have to inform you that you are no longer welcome at Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club. Please do not attempt to enter the venue in future, as being refused entry may cause further embarrassment.”
Also on Monday, independent senator Jacqui Lambie warned Senator Thorpe that she “cannot keep doing this”.
“A good start would be … take the responsibility for your own actions and take them into your own hands,” she told Sky News.
“There is no getting out of this, you are a politician. Sometimes we do muck up but not taking any responsibility for yourself is not very helpful.”
Senator Lambie said the Victorian senator should seek counselling if she wasn’t in a good way, as “something needs to be done”.
Source: Seven Network
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said he was starting to “feel sorry” for Senator Thorpe.
“I think that she has to have some serious conversations with a few people about how she is conducting herself and whether it is appropriate and how she gets into that position to act like that,” he told the Seven Network.
But he said Senator Thorpe should not be booted from parliament.
“I think once you are elected, you are elected. It can come with a whole range of other issues you can do within the parliament, but the Australian people will kick [you] out at the next election,” he said.
Senator Thorpe’s term runs until 2028.
Also on Seven, Environment Minister Tanya Plibserk condemned Senator Thorpe’s behaviour.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a member of parliament or your average person, I think that sort of behaviour in public is just not acceptable,” she said.
“As for whether the Parliament should have the ability to intervene, I think that‘s something we would have to consider very carefully.”
In a statement to Seven News, which first screened the video, Senator Thorpe said she did not start the fight but was provoked over her views on Indigenous affairs.
“It’s sad people are utilising whatever they can to drag me down when we’re trying to discuss important issues in this country,” she said.
One of the men asked “how the f— does someone get in parliament like you?”
Senator Thorpe angrily responded: “We’ve been repressed all our f—ing life in this country and you let this little dog speak.”
Senator Thorpe was leaving the club about 3am after celebrating a friend’s 50th birthday, Seven News reported.
She was shown shouting at the men before being dragged away by a friend.
Senator Thorpe quit the Greens earlier this year over a dispute about the Indigenous voice to parliament.
It’s the latest controversy involving her. She was last month pulled to the ground by police after intervening in an anti-trans protest outside parliament house in Canberra.
– with AAP