Lidia Thorpe wingwoman NAIDOC chair Stacie Piper speaks out on strip club incident in Melbourne

By William On Apr 20, 2023

Lidia Thorpe’s sidekick during the rogue senator’s foul-mouthed late-night diatribe outside a Melbourne strip club has broken her silence.

Victoria NAIDOC Chair Stacie Piper was out Saturday night with the former Greens senator to celebrate their friend Shelley Johnson’s 50th birthday at Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club in Brunswick.

But the party ended in turmoil at 3 a.m. Sunday when Senator Thorpe unleashed swear words at a mob of men standing outside in the street as they boarded a cab.

She yelled at one, “You have a small penis,” then marched over to another and said “you’re scarred” in a menacing tone, pointing in his face.

Footage of the spray went viral and Senator Thorpe was later banned from the strip club for life by outraged manager David Ross.

Now Ms Piper has revealed she is traumatized by the furore surrounding the incident, insisting that the reports about it were ‘harsh and untrue’.

Victoria NAIDOC Chair Stacie Piper (pictured second left) was with former Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe (center) to celebrate friend Shelley Johnson’s 50th birthday at Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club in Brunswick

Stacie Piper (right) has admitted she is traumatized by the fallout from the incident and insisted the reports about it were ‘harsh and untrue’.

She told Daily Mail Australia: ‘This is a very difficult time for myself and my family given the harsh and untrue stories that are being published.’

She said she could not comment further, but added: “Hopefully there will be a safe space one day.

“I hope no more people end up in this terrible situation.”

The alleged unprovoked verbal assault came after Senator Thorpe reportedly berated others within the club for being on Aboriginal land.

Outside, one of the men snapped back at the senator’s attack, calling her a racist dog and wondering how she got into parliament.

During the senator’s attack, she told the stunned crowd of bystanders to “get fucked.”

“Anything I want to say to the black brothers out there and to everyone we’re fighting, every black man standing with those goddamn white little bastards — you can all get fucked too,” Senator Thorpe said.

Now an Indigenous former supporter of Senator Thorpe has admitted that the maverick politician has left as well, revealing her disappointment in a TikTok video that has since gone viral and received tens of thousands of views.

“I was very disappointed because we just can’t act like this,” said the social media video blogger who goes by the name Eleven.

“If this was a white politician yelling, ‘You black C’s,’ you can bet she’d be there and say, ‘Get out of politics.’

“You know there’s no room for that. There’s no room for it. That behavior is not okay.’

She said Senator Thorpe should have known better than to react the way she did.

An Indigenous former supporter of Ms Thorpe says the senator went too far in a TikTok video that has since gone viral and received tens of thousands of views

“Regardless of the people that come your way, there are better ways to handle conflict,” she said. ‘You can run away. You can report it.

‘You can do a number of things. But to me, you show more character and strength by walking away, by not associating with such people.

“They don’t deserve your time. She just looks very reckless.’

She added: “It’s disappointing to see, to be completely honest. This is not hatred towards Lydia. I have supported Lydia in many different ways.

“Not only is it very exciting for me to see an Aboriginal woman in politics, but it is also just very inspiring.

‘[But] you are the representative of your constituents, you really shouldn’t behave like that in public. You really shouldn’t.

“If I went out and acted like this, my workplace, if they got wind of it, would probably fire me.”

Senator Thorpe was also criticized by her own father Roy Illingworth (pictured), who branded her a racist in an interview on Sky News.

Senator Thorpe has also been criticized by her own father for labeling her a ‘racist’ in an interview on Sky News.

“The way I see it, the way she is and the way she’s changed over the years, she’s a very racist person,” Roy Illingworth told Andrew Bolt on Thursday night.

“She doesn’t acknowledge her white side. I’m a little disappointed in her demeanor lately.

“Maybe she’s being used by someone, or by some people. But normally she was never like that. Maybe it’s also the power that has gone to her head. I’m not sure.’

Senator Thorpe was also reprimanded on Wednesday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who advised her to seek help for her “health problems.”

“I think that behavior is clearly unacceptable,” he said.

“These are not the actions of someone who should normally participate in society, let alone a senator.

“Lidia must be very aware of how this behavior is perceived.”

But on Thursday, Senator Thorpe — who left the Greens in February over the party’s support for the indigenous vote in parliament, which she opposes — hit back.

She insisted racial harassment had triggered her Sunday morning outburst and stressed that no injuries were reported in the confrontation.

“Saturday night I was challenged and I stood up for myself,” she said in a lengthy statement. ‘No one was injured.

“The story should be about the racists brutally harassing a senator. The story is that I can’t go out without being harassed by racists.

Senator Lidia Thorpe insisted she had been racially harassed which triggered her outburst, insisting no one was injured in the confrontation, pictured

“This is the racism that Blak people face every day in this colony.”

The “Blak Sovereign” movement activist also attacked critics who suggested she needed therapy.

“Saying I need ‘mental help’ is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative that was used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, especially Blak women,” she said.

“I am disappointed by the opportunism of politicians in Canberra – including the Prime Minister – who are using this to bring me down.

“But more than that, I’m encouraged and inspired by the hundreds of messages of support I’ve received from all over the country.”

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Senator Thorpe for comment.

READ SENATOR LIDIA THORPE’S FURIOUS DEFENSE OF BURST

I sit in the Senate as a Blak Sovereign mother and grandmother who is not afraid to challenge the government and fight to improve the lives of First Nations People in this country.

This is in the interest of all people living on this land. When I talk about a Treaty, I’m talking about a path to peace that will benefit all of us, white and white, colonizer and colonized.

I understand that sometimes this means I will be targeted, but I remain hopeful that the media will see through superficial attacks and start reporting on the real problems affecting people in this country.

Isn’t it interesting that there were a hundred stories of me responding to racist harassment and yet not one, not a single story about Saturday, the 32nd anniversary of the Royal Commission’s report into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody being handed over to the government.

On Saturday night I was challenged and stood up for myself. No one was injured. The story is supposed to be about the racists brutally harassing a senator. The story is that I can’t go out without being harassed by racists. This is the racism that Blak people face every day in this colony.

The racism where children are being removed in record time. The racism that prevents the government from implementing the recommendations of the Blak Deaths In Custody Report, that sees our people killed by the police, and that locks our little children, some as young as ten years old, in cold prison cells. Meanwhile, the racists are free to roam and harass Blak women without consequence.

There is a history of white men in power using the media to attack and demonize Blak people who stand up against racism. They did the same with Adam Goodes and Heritier Lumumba when they called out racism.

Saying I need “mental help” is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative that was used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, especially Blak women.

I am disappointed by the opportunism of politicians in Canberra – including the Prime Minister – who use this to bring me down, but more than that I am strengthened and inspired by the hundreds of messages of support I have received from every corner of the country.

While the Prime Minister and others have used this to try to undermine my progress, I have been busy in the community talking to First Nations leaders about solutions to the problems our people face every day.

I will speak about the work I do as a Senator, both in Canberra and on the ground, in an exclusive interview with Tom Tanuki that will be available in the coming days.