"He backflipped on his backflip!": Kamahl's "train wreck" Project interview
Australian singer Kamahl has spectacularly reversed his position on the Voice to Parliament for the second time, just two days after publicly announcing his support.
The 88-year-old initially stated on social media that he would vote "YES" in the upcoming referendum scheduled for October 14. He attributed this change of heart to a meeting with Indigenous comedian Dane Simpson and constitutional lawyer Eddie Synot.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Kamahl later appeared on live television during an interview on The Project and announced that he would be voting "NO" on the issue. This unexpected shift in stance left both the hosts and viewers perplexed, with one viewer describing the interview as a "train wreck".
During the interview, Kamahl expressed concerns that the proposed Voice to Parliament could potentially exacerbate racial divisions. He argued that it might segregate one racial group from the rest of the country. He acknowledged his earlier statement of support, apologised for any inconsistency, and urged people to disregard his previous position.
“If you do the Voice this way, it becomes a racist issue. You’re putting a whole race of people separate from the rest of the country,” he said. “I apologise, call me a hypocrite or uninformed but I am informed now. Whatever I said before now, wipe it out, but start all over again and forgive me.”
Kamahl also raised the issue of government spending, claiming that the Indigenous community received $40 billion annually. When pressed for the source of this figure, he sparred with host Hamish Macdonald, who fact-checked the statement. Macdonald pointed out that the $40 billion figure was not accurate and clarified that the National Indigenous Australians agency's budget for 2022-23 was $4.5 billion, not $30 billion as Kamahl initially stated.
Despite admitting the error in the figure, Kamahl maintained his decision to vote "NO".
Before publicly declaring his support for the Voice to Parliament, Kamahl mentioned that he had spent sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons of the issue.
After the interview concluded, The Project panel, who had anticipated Kamahl discussing his "YES" vote decision, appeared taken aback and momentarily speechless. Viewers on social media reacted strongly to the interview, with one labelling it a "train wreck" and others suggesting that Kamahl had manipulated the program's discussion.
Following the airing of The Project episode, entertainment reporter Peter Ford said during a 3AW radio interview that he had been giving Kamahl advice all week over how best to interact with the media on this topic.
“It was a pre-recorded interview and he was not happy with the way it was cut,” Ford said. He also went on to explain that he had repeatedly implored Kamahl to steer clear of the Voice debate in public, but that his advice was ignored “every single time”.
According to Ford, Kamahl was not happy with the exchange with Project host Macdonald, and that he “wants an apology for making him look like a fool”.
Images: The Project