Lidia Thorpe's dad calls her "racist" in extraordinary interview
<p>Lidia Thorpe’s father, Roy Illingworth, has used his appearance on <em>The Bolt Report </em>to share his take on the independent senator’s political stance. </p>
<p>Speaking to Andrew Bolt, Illingworth confessed that he feels “disappointed” in his daughter, going so far as to state his controversial belief that he is “a very racist person”. </p>
<p>“The way I see it, the way she is and the way she’s changed over the years, she’s a very racist person against white people,” Illingworth declared on the Sky News show. </p>
<p>“She doesn’t acknowledge any of her white side. I’m a bit disappointed in the way she’s been carrying on lately.</p>
<p>“Because after all, she does have [an] English background - as well as Irish, the convict side.</p>
<p>“She’s never, ever mentioned me in her speeches; never mentioned anything about a white father, which disappointed me a little bit.”</p>
<p>Illingworth went on to explain that their relationship had come with some tension for a while, though the two do keep in touch on important holidays, such as Father’s Day and birthdays. However, according to Illingworth, he has no contact with his grandchildren. </p>
<p>He made the claim that Thorpe has “said a lot of bad and evil things”, but that the two still have love in their hearts for each other, as “at the end of the day, she’s still my daughter.”</p>
<p>It was a point that Sky News’ Chris Kenny later took note of, sharing his opinion that no father should “publicly shame” their own child like that, after Illingworth made further claims - and even rejected some of Thorpe’s - about the senator’s upbringing. </p>
<p>“I don’t take back any of my criticism of Lidia Thorpe, she’s a public figure, and she’s got to be accountable, and my job is to try to ensure that politicians and others in the public field are held to account,” Kenny said.</p>
<p>“But if she needs help, or support, or wise counsel - or just a bit of moral support and a shoulder to cry on - well then, the people she should be able to rely on most of all are her family.</p>
<p>“Roy Illingworth should be reaching out to his daughter. This father, he really should be seeing if he could do something to help his daughter.”</p>
<p>Illingworth’s comments saw him attempt to silence Thorpe’s claims that she had always faced oppression, as he told Andrew Bolt, “she was really spoilt. She never went without anything growing up. She got everything she wanted and she knows that.”</p>
<p>He made a point to note his belief that she “turned racist” as she entered the political world, and that she first showed an interest in that around 16.</p>
<p>However, when it came to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s opinion that the senator needs “some support”, that her “behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable”, and that “there are obvious issues that need to be dealt with, in terms of her health issues”, Illingworth was not in agreement. </p>
<p>“She’s just a strong woman,” he said. “That’s the way she’s always been.”</p>
<p>The ‘behaviour’ in question was in regards to a strip club incident between Thorpe and some men, in which she had been recorded yelling at them, before receiving a life ban from the establishment. </p>
<p>Thorpe dubbed Albanese’s take as a “continuation of racist and misogynistic” narratives, explaining that “saying I need some ‘mental help’ is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, particularly Blak women.”</p>
<p>And, in reference to those same comments - even before her own father had made his very public statement - she reflected that there is a “history of white men in power using the media to attack and demonise Blak people that stand up to racism.</p>
<p>“Saying I need some ‘mental help’ is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, particularly Blak women … While the Prime Minister and others have used this to try and undermine my progress, I have been busy out in [the] community talking to First Nations leaders about solutions to the problems our people face everyday.”</p>
<p><em>Images: Sky News</em></p>
