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Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas’ Home Vandalised After Transphobic Comments

Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas’ Home Vandalised After Transphobic Comments

The Lord Mayor made the controversial comments just 11 days into his role.

Jessica Lynch

Jessica Lynch

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas' home has been vandalised following major backlash over transphobic comments he made on the radio last week.

Zempilas came under fire after making a derogatory comments on the transgender community on radio last week, declaring it was 'wrong' to identify as a gender other than what they were assigned at birth.

"If you've got a penis mate, you're a bloke. If you've got a vagina, you're a woman. Game over," he said.

Protesters later took to the streets in a stand against the Lord Mayor, with the crowd chanting at one point: "Basil f***ing Zempilas doesn't represent us!"

According to the Daily Mail, the Zempilas family home had been targeted by vandals on Sunday, with a report being lodged with Western Australia Police shortly after the incident.

The vandalism comes after Zempilas issued a two-minute video apology on the Perth Council's website, essentially claiming that he 'didn't mean to cause any offence.'

"The comments I made were wrong and they don't reflect how I feel," he said in the video apology. "I made a mistake and it's my mistake to accept. I have to be better and I will be better.

"One of our jobs as broadcasters is to entertain, I was trying to be funny - it was not funny - it was inappropriate and I apologise," he said.

A Change.org petition has since been created calling for Zempilas to stand down from his role.

"Prior to being appointed he already made disgusting and shameful comments about the homeless of Perth and how he will be pushing to have them kicked out of the city," the petition description read.

"He has now followed this up with hateful, bigoted and appalling comments about trans and non binary people on the 6PR radio station. Including but not limited to 'any women with a penis call the station and we will give you a $100 gift card!

"This is not how a Lord Mayor should be acting, this is not how any person in power or not in power even, should be portraying any other human being regardless of sex, gender, sexuality, race, this is 2020 not the 1950s! Who is next on Mr Zempalis list, women, children, the disabled, when and where will be stop???"

"The Lord Mayor should be stood down and boycotted. The premier should be getting involved with this and some action needs to be taken, his pathetic excuse of an apology is NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Trans and non binary, we stand with you, you are loved and cared for."

At the time of writing, the petition has nearly 11,000 signatures.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram

Topics: News, Australia