Aussie pop star Christine Anu’s fury over Aboriginal flag controversy
After being booted from her stint on The Masked Singer, Torres Strait Islander hit maker Christine Anu has spoken out on the copyright controversy surrounding the Aboriginal flag. Here’s what she has to say.
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Indigenous pop star Christine Anu has blasted a clothing company’s stranglehold on the Aboriginal flag and its plans to charge the AFL for using the cultural symbol.
Anu, who was unmasked on Channel 10’s The Masked Singer on Monday, said the flag issue has “brought (Indigenous people) to our knees.”
Her comments follow reports the Aboriginal flag will not be displayed on the centre circle during the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.
WAM Clothing Pty Ltd is the worldwide copyright licensee of the flag design. The AFL’s decision to not pay “fees” to WAM, opting to paint “Deadly” on the footy field instead, has been widely applauded.
“How can a clothing company have the right over something that is a symbol to a nation?” Anu told Confidential on Tuesday.
“It’s identity, it’s recognition, it’s pride, it’s connection, it’s belonging. How does that happen? How can somebody have such control over it … and take a symbol of identity away Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders? That really disappoints me to no end.”
Anu, who has Torres Strait Island bloodlines, shot to fame with the hit, My Island Home, is also a dancer, actor, mother and broadcaster.
When she was unmasked on the singing show, Anu declared it was “a relief.”
She told Confidential: “When you’re away from family, in another state, in a situation we’re all in, it amps up you’re need to be around people you recognise, familiar voices, and familiar environments.”
Anu saw her time on the show as a celebration of her evolution as an artist.
My Island Home, and her debut album, Stylin Up, were released 25 years ago.
“I think this was a chance for me to celebrate all of the different aspects of me, and bring the joy of music back to people at a time I have not been able to perform, and people have not been able to go out.”
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