"Google it ya lazy mongrels”: Hollywood star's powerful post on Voice Referendum
Hollywood superstar Jason Momoa has divided his 17 million followers after endorsing the Yes campaign for the upcoming Voice referendum.
The Aquaman actor, 44, who is of Indigenous Polynesian descent, took to Instagram to repost a viral ‘Yes vote’ video that was released on Thursday, and features Indigenous musician and writer Adam Briggs and comedians Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst.
"The post read: “#yes23 is a referendum taking place in Australia on October 14. The aim is to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people a Voice in parliament so they can weigh in on issues that affect their lives.
“Simple as that. How do I know this? I googled it. But many Australians are confused or freaked out about what it means.
"Don’t be! It’s a good thing! Just do good things! Also Google it ya lazy mongrels.”
He also added “VOTE YES to THE VOICE on OCT 14.”
Momoa's stance divided his followers, with some claiming that he had no right to weigh in on Australian politics, despite his indigenous heritage.
“Stay out of Australian politics mate, do your thing in America and that, but putting your 5 cents in terms on the Yes or No vote is not with you,” wrote angry follower.
“Celebrity puppets sharing government propaganda campaigns. The world continues to get weirder,” another added.
However, many praised the star for using his platform and lending his voice to the Yes campaign.
“Thanks for sharing this. It is a big deal here and causing a lot of controversy and misinformation,” one fan commented.
“Thank you and Taika for the solidarity. The lead up to the referendum has been really rough on our communities and it’s actually really nice to get some encouragement from our Indigenous brothers from across the seas,” another added.
“I can’t even begin to thank you for sharing this. I will not read any more of the comments,” a third commented.
“Thank you for adding your voice to the thousands across Australia who will be voting yes. Every voice counts,” added a fourth.
The video itself is a three-minute skit-style clip where Briggs talks to two ignorant women - who had casual biases echoing the No campaign - about the upcoming Voice referendum.
He kindly calls them out for their lack of information, with their excuse being that they haven't “had heaps of time” because of "life".
“Have you got your phone? Let’s see what you do have time for,” Briggs asks in the clip and as he opens up their search history, and jokingly says: “‘Did Aaron leave Love Island 13 because he had gonorrhoea?’ Big questions."
He then googles the proposal and finds a basic explainer in seconds.
“The Voice referendum means we are voting to have a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice who may make representations to parliament on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"The Voice will give independent advice to parliament and will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of communities. That advice then goes to parliament who continues to hold the ultimate power for legislative change," they said.
“OK, well, that is quite clear, I’d just vote yes to that?” the woman adds. “How did you find that? You went on Google, and it’s, the first result? OK, well you need to tell people about that Google thing.”
The clip ends with a message that says: "Vote Yes to that referendum thing."
Images: Instagram/ Getty: Mike Marsland/WireImage