Firass Dirani defends Jarryd Hayne after ex-footy star found guilty of sexual assault
Gut actor Firass Dirani has defended convicted rapist Jarryd Hayne in a baffling Instagram post where he bizarrely claimed the fallen footballer had been ‘framed’.
Hayne, 35, was found guilty on Tuesday of raping a woman twice in her Newcastle home on the night of the NRL grand final in September 2018.
It was the second time a NSW District Court jury had convicted Hayne of sexual assault.
The former NRL star is out on bail until he is sentenced in May – when a prison sentence is certain.
Following the guilty verdict, Dirani shared a bizarre diatribe on Instagram on Wednesday, comparing Hayne’s case to that of rapper Tupac Shakur.
He claimed that the victim’s story was “not true” and that the case was “based on fabrication and contempt.”
Firass Dirani has defended convicted rapist Jarryd Hayne in a bizarre Instagram post, sensationally claiming the fallen footballer was ‘framed’
Following the guilty verdict, Dirani, an Australian actor who starred in Underbelly, shared a nonsensical diatribe on Instagram on Wednesday, comparing Hayne’s case to that of rapper Tupac Shakur.
“Black athlete takes p****y” is what they want you to believe,” he wrote, presumably referring to Hayne’s Fijian heritage.
“We couldn’t catch him on the field, let’s drag him to court. Reminds me of the Tupac case.
“I say it as I see it.”
Tupac Shakur was accused of sexually assaulting a then 19-year-old woman in 1993 at a New York hotel.
He denied the charges, but was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and spent nine months behind bars.
It is the latest controversy to hit Dirani, who previously sparked outrage with his conspiracy theories.
He came under fire in December after taking a bizarre take on the gruesome murders of Queensland police officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, linking their deaths to a covid conspiracy theory that claims the pandemic was planned.
Dirani bizarrely suggested that the killers had been driven insane by Covid-19 and that the “plandemic” was disrupting people’s brains.
Hayne faces up to 14 years behind bars, but he was allowed to return to his Central Coast home with his wife before being taken into custody
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Dirani cited Covid lockdowns as a possible factor in the shooting.
“I note that mental health could be the issue in this mass shooting. Motivated by two years of lockdowns and lies,” he said.
He was widely criticized for the comments, with 2GB host Mark Levy leading the ire.
“Here’s a tip for you, Firass Dirani: Stick to learning your rules and stay in the makeup chair, mate. Because while you pretend to shoot people and act like a criminal in Underbelly, these cops are going after the real criminals on the streets,” he said.
Dirani also caused anger during his stint with SAS Australia, ruffling the feathers on his very first day.
Things came to a head during a task when Dirani disappeared, putting his teammates ‘in danger’.
“There’s no real room for someone not to play the team game, you have to take care of people … Firass is very selfish, he’s very involved with himself and that started to affect the group,” said Merrick Watts when he saw the actor discussed. .
Former Channel 10 executive Rob Knight didn’t mince words when speaking about Firass Dirani (pictured) – labeling the 36-year-old ‘unemployed’ and claiming his actions at SAS Australia ‘killed his TV career’
Dirani infamously claimed to Daily Mail Australia that his co-star Shannan Ponton (pictured) was a ‘redneck’ and a ‘culture vulture’ for having Maori tattoos, after The Biggest Loser’s trainer called him a ‘sociopath’ because of his behavior on the show.
Dirani claimed to Daily Mail Australia that his co-star Shannan Ponton is a “redneck” and a “culture vulture” because he has Maori tattoos, after The Biggest Loser’s trainer called him a “sociopath” for his behavior in the show.
The actor also accused Mr Watts during an explosive live interview on The Kyle and Jackie O show, where he accused the comedian of “trying to coddle” him during filming.
Following his stint on the show, former Channel 10 executive Rob Knight didn’t mince words when speaking about the actor – labeling the 36-year-old actor “unemployed” and claiming that his actions on and off the show “are TV killed’. career’.
In a scathing op-ed on TV Blackbox, Rob sensationally claimed that Dirani “blew it up” and is responsible for his “rogue operation” – because he “acted like an idiot” on the show.
“His antics on social media and in interviews have only added further evidence that he is not a victim of the ‘rogue edit’ but simply facing the consequences of his own actions,” he said of the Logie Award-winning actor.
Jarryd Hayne and his wife Amellia Bonnici hold hands as the couple is swarmed by camera crews
Disgraced NRL star Hayne has now been found guilty of assaulting the woman twice, with Tuesday’s verdict marking the end of a third criminal trial against him.
He won four more weeks of freedom when a judge continued his bail until sentencing, following a tearful plea from the ex-footballer’s wife.
Judge Turnbull heard threats had been made against Hayne on social media, including taunts stating that “big bubba is waiting” and reports suggesting he be raped “in the showers.”
Judge Turnbull denied a prosecution request to immediately take Hayne into custody and continued his bail until the date of his sentencing, May 8, when he will be taken to prison.
Hayne’s shock five-week win comes after a Parklea Correctional Center manager, Geraint Roberts, told the court that Hayne would likely be classified as a non-association inmate if he were locked up today – meaning he would be in maximum security .
Ms Bonnici burst into tears when she addressed the court earlier, with it also being revealed in court that Hayne and his wife have been bombarded with threatening messages, including on her personal Facebook page.
When deciding to grant Hayne a bail extension, Judge Turnbull said there were certain “health issues” Ms Bonnici was dealing with in the present day.