Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale dances in mayoral robes, chains for viral TikTok craze
A Sydney mayor has been lambusted for joining the viral TikTok craze — dancing in his mayoral chains and robe. SEE THE FOOTAGE HERE.
Northern District Times
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern District Times. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Claims ‘owners training dogs to be vicious’ as attack stats revealed
- ‘Maximum height’: Plans for sky-high western Sydney CBD
- ‘Council elections can be held during COVID-19’: NSW MP
“I’ll probably get sacked for this”.
That was the thought expressed by controversial Ryde Labor Mayor Jerome Laxale when he posted a TikTok video of himself dancing in his mayoral robes and chains — dubbing his involvement in the online craze as robe-gate.
Ryde residents uncovered the video of the councillor, viewed 1860 times so far, on his Mayor Jerome Laxale TikTok account, which has just 31 followers.
The discovery by constituents of the mayor joining in on the TikTok dance craze — which also resulted in some backlash on social media — comes after the council was forced to cancel a recent meeting when he and several of his Labor and Greens councillors failed to show up.
Several local government sources told NewsLocal there were guidelines on appropriate places and events to wear mayoral robes and chains, including council functions and events within the chambers.
But the mayor hit back, declaring he “couldn’t think of a more appropriate use for the robe”, describing it as a “relic of the past”.
“I do not wear the robes at official functions,” Cr Laxale said. “I believe that they are inappropriate for official use in the 21st century.”
The Labor mayor said he was emulating the trend with a “common tongue in cheek phrase” when he said he would be sacked for the mayoral robe dance, arguing he was using the robes and chain to engage young people and “make fun of myself”.
The council spent a whopping $4500 on new robes and the preservation of a 40-year-old set of “regal red robes” in 2013.
Ryde Council’s general manager George Dedes did not respond to questions regarding restrictions around the use of mayoral chains and robes outside council events.
Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou hit out at Cr Laxale’s TikTok shocker, labelling it as “deeply offensive”.
“While I don’t begrudge Jerome having fun on TikTok and trying to be cool with the kids, his behaviour in that video makes a mockery of his Mayoral position and I find that deeply offensive,” he said.
“In my view, some traditions need to be respected and Jerome’s actions are nothing more than an attention-seeking publicity stunt.
“Young Mayors like Jerome and I, who are heavy users of social media should be using that platform in a way that isn’t compromising — as a fulltime Mayor with no other employment I take my responsibilities seriously and I’d suggest to Jerome that he do the same.”