Lidia Thorpe under pressure as furious backlash erupts after cartoon picture of King Charles beheaded shared

Fury erupts at senator that verbally assaulted King Charles shares cartoon picture of monarch beheaded

PA
Ed Griffiths

By Ed Griffiths


Published: 21/10/2024

- 16:29

The senator released a statement outlining the image was shared on her Instagram account by a member of her team without her knowledge

The Australian senator, who shouted "You are not my King" at King Charles has issued an apology statement after a member of her team posted a cartoon of the monarch beheaded which sparked a furious backlash online.

A member of Senator Lidia Thorpe team reposted a cartoon of King Charles's head lying next to a crown on her Instagram story.


The King's eyes are shown with crosses, and the crown is on its side the left of the head.

The post, posted and created by Matt Chun, co-editor of anti-imperialist publication The Sunday Paper, is captioned "You are not our king" and contains a video of the senator's protest earlier today.

Lidia ThorpeFury erupts at senator that verbally assaulted King Charles shares cartoon picture of monarch beheaded PA

One X user said: "She must be removed from the senate immediately before she further tarnishes this country's reputation."

Another said: "I think it's time for her to be removed from her seat."

A third user reacted: "He is her king whether she likes it or not."

Although most of the reaction condemns the post, some users have defended the deleted post.

King Charles CartoonShe later deleted the cartoon around four hours later.Instagram/Senatorthorpe

One said: "That picture is fine."

Another claimed: "So many Brits agree with her."

There was also reaction from people online who agreed with the republican movement in Australia but condemned the use of the cartoon.

One said: "She's entitled to her views, it's a pity she's chosen such an undignified way of voicing them.

Senator Lidia ThorpeFury erupts at senator that verbally assaulted King Charles shares cartoon picture of monarch beheadedPA

Another user said: "After I heard about her shouting, I thought a way to tackle this was for the King to invite her to have a private audience with him to discuss things. But that "cartoon" is just downright insulting."

The post follows her outburst earlier this morning where she shouted at the King and said 'genocide' had been committed against the Commonwealth country's Indigenous people.

In her statement she said: "I would not intentionally share anything that could be seen to encourage violence against anyone."

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