Ex-Labour staffer visited by police after sharing a screenshot of a US number
The Bizarre Reason Why A Former Labor Worker Was Visited By Federal Police For Posting A SONG On Social Media
- Bassel Tallal, 30, posted “Kill Bill” online
- Mr Tallal takes on Bill Shorten
- AFP visited Mr Tallal after a complaint
A former Labor staffer was visited by federal police after he posted a screenshot of a song on social media, only to be interpreted as a possible death threat against his political rival.
Bassel Tallal, 30, is running against Cabinet Secretary Bill Shorten, 55, in two separate critical Victorian Labor elections as members go to vote on the party’s governing committee for the first time in three years.
On Thursday, he posted a screenshot of American singer SZA’s hit ‘Kill Bill’ on his Instagram account.
However, the post was reported to police and the AFP visited his Melbourne home on Friday night after receiving a complaint.
Mr Tallal has denied that the number was a reference to 55-year-old Mr Shorten.
A former Labor staffer was visited by police after he posted a screenshot of SZA’s hit song ‘Kill Bill’ to social media – with police warning it could be interpreted as a death threat to Cabinet Secretary Bill Shorten
The song, whose title refers to the 2003 hit-man film Quentin Tarantino, features lyrics such as “I might kill my ex, not the best idea / Killed his girlfriend next, how’d I get here?” / Rather in hell than alone’.
Police warned Mr Tallal about how the Instagram post could be interpreted, Labor sources say.
He then deleted the message. The AFP has said it will not take any further action.
“This is a bizarre response to an innocent post on social media about a popular song. If Mr. Shorten is offended by my poor taste in music, I apologize to him,” Mr. Tallal told the The Sydney Morning Herald.
Bassel Tallal, 30, (pictured) a former staff member of ex-Senator Stephen Conroy and Defense Secretary Richard Marles, has denied it was a reference to Mr Shorten, 55
Mr Tallal faces Mr Shorten (pictured) in two separate critical Victorian Labor elections as members take their first vote in three years on the party’s governing committee
He had previously posted a similar story on Instagram about the same song on Dec. 15.
Members of Labor Victoria were disenfranchised in 2020 after an investigation found branches piling up on an ‘industrial scale’.
Their rights were restored in the run-up to the party conference in June.
The upcoming election has led to tensions between members associated with Shorten and members associated with Marles and Conroy.