Perth’s Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas Under Fire For Transphobic Comments
笔别谤迟丑鈥檚 new Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, who was sworn in just last week, has come under fire for transphobic comments made on the breakfast show he co-hosts on Radio Station 6PR on Wednesday morning.
While discussing听Boxing Australia’s decision to bring the World Gay Boxing Championships to Sydney in 2023 with his听co-host Steve Mills, Zempilas听said that it was “wrong” for someone to identify as a different gender to their physical anatomy.
“If you’ve got a penis mate, you’re a bloke,鈥� Zempilas said. “If you’ve got a vagina, you’re a woman. Game over.”
Mills replied by saying, “that’s the new era Basil, get into it. If I subscribe to being a girl, I am a girl.”
When pressed by Mills about how he planned to handle meeting transgender City Of Perth electors, Mr Zempilas replied “handle the penis?” before later adding that there “is more redheads listening to听6PR than there is hermaphrodites.”
Zempilas also called for any women with a penis to ring the radio station for the chance to win a $100 Retravision voucher.
Quick to call out Zempilas, TransFolk of WA chair Hunter Gurevich said they would not be accepting an apology from Mr Zempilas until he “confronted the damage his comments can and have done.”
“Obviously these comments are repugnant, bigoted, narrow-minded, parochial and fundamentally deny contemporary science,” Gurevich added.听“Further, it puts LGBTQI people at increased risk of harm, when we are already a vulnerable group in society. It is especially disappointing when the City Of Perth has long supported the LGBTQI community of Perth. For Mr Zempilas to now betray not only the community, but our relationship with the City, is beyond inexcusable.鈥�
Gurevich then strongly urged Zempilas to undertake trans awareness training. The comments also come just weeks before Western Australia鈥檚 largest LGBTQI celebration, PrideFest kicks off. An event听which the City Of Perth听has been a longstanding sponsor.
Speaking to Perth LGBTQI news site OUTinPerth, Zempilas for the comments saying, “if anyone was offended that was not our intention.”听However, the damage was already done, with many taking to social media with the hashtag #notmymayor, to express their outrage.
When contacted, a spokesperson for 6PR said, “Basil鈥檚 comments did not meet those expectations and it is appropriate he has apologised,” adding that the radio station did not support Mr Zempilas’ comments, and that employees were regularly trained to ensure broadcasters met community standards and expectations.
