ABC journalist Mark Reddie says he and a group of friends were targeted with eggs by homophobic thugs in Sydney just hours after the Mardi Gras parade.
The Sydney reporter tweeted about the sad incident on Riley Street in Darlinghurst in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Walking home with a group of gay guys and a car drives by and the men inside throw cartons of eggs at us,” Reddie tweeted.
“The male occupants laughing as they sped off.
“Wow. If you think some eggs are going to rattle us, think again. You did not succeed.
“I truly hope you find happiness. That is all.”
Many of Reddie’s followers also tweeted their support, including one who believes they also encountered the same car full of men in the area.
“This happened to us as well. (A) car drove past and threw a carton. Didn’t faze us as none of the eggs landed. S**t shots,” they tweeted said.
Another wrote, “How sad that people feel threatened by others because of who they are.
“This is why we still need Mardi Gras. Hope you had a wonderful time last night despite this horrible event.”
Reddie responded, tweeting, “I couldn’t agree more. The reason I shared it was not to give it air time, but to show that we still have a long way to go.”
Walking home with a group of gay guys & a car drives by & the men inside throw cartons of eggs at us. The male occupants laughing as they sped off. Wow. If you think some eggs are going to rattle us, think again. You did not succeed. I truly hope you find happiness. That is all.
— Mark Reddie (@ReddieNews) March 6, 2021
ABC Pride float appears in Mardi Gras
Last year, Mark Reddie took part in the ABC’s first ever Mardi Gras float. And the broadcaster and its staff marched again on Saturday night with the ABC Pride: We’re With You float.
“I’m so fortunate to have work in a place that encourages everyone to be who they really are,” Mark Reddie tweeted last year.
“Not everyone has that privilege. Thinking of our 78er elders today.”
Today is an historic day for @abcsydney @abcnews – it’s our first ever float and march at #MardiGras2020 – I’m so fortunate to have work in a place that encourages everyone to be who they really are – not everyone has that privilege – thinking of our 78er elders today 🌈 pic.twitter.com/hqrZ5zeo2L
— Mark Reddie (@ReddieNews) February 29, 2020
What a fabulous crowd at #WorldPride2019 in #NewYork – it was an honour to represent Sydney as it bids to host the event in 2023 #fearless #Pride2019 #PrideParade #worldpridenyc pic.twitter.com/gI7BVMpFGl
— Mark Reddie (@ReddieNews) June 30, 2019
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade took over the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday night with an amazing COVID-safe display of LGBTIQ+ pride.
A crowd of 36,000 spectators in the stands cheered on the 5,000 marchers on more than 120 parade floats, including some from Brisbane.
For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
If they were white, the story would have said “white thugs”. Therefore, the thugs were not white: they’d have been black or brown.
Admit it. Admit that homophobia in Australia is rife among immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities.
Rather than attack us as racist or bigots for pointing out this fact, try working with the government to ensure that people coming to live here are trained on how NOT to act in our country.
It is so disappointing that you want to claim racism should be the purpose of your comment.
What’s disappointing is that we can’t even ask these questions or have these discussions without being called racist, yet we thrown scorn on ONE particular sex and ONE particular race without a second thought.
Unless you’re living in a cave, you know that Muslim and African youths from the western suburbs come into the city to harass LGBT+ people. Denying it doesn’t make you virtuous. Calling it out doesn’t make me racist.