Greens candidate Angus McAlpine rapped about date rape, drug dealing as ‘FatGut’
Victoria’s Greens are standing by a foul-mouthed candidate who once rapped about date rape, domestic violence and drug dealing, despite pressure for him to resign.
Victoria State Election
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Victoria’s Greens are standing by a candidate who rapped about date rape, domestic violence and drug dealing, despite pressure for him to resign.
Footscray candidate Angus McAlpine and party leader Samantha Ratnam fronted media this afternoon to slam comments he made as rapper FatGut.
He apologised for the offensive lyrics and said: “There’s not a day gone by where I haven’t regretted or been incredibly ashamed about that.”
The Herald Sun revealed that Mr McAlpine was the lead vocalist of Broken Aesthetiks, whose songs regularly reference “b****es” and include a number of homophobic slurs.
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One particularly vile track features the lyrics: “date rape drugs in her drink then have my way”.
Another boasts: “got no class when trying to get some a**, put a rowie (rohypnol) in your glass and wait for a few minutes to pass”.
Mr McAlpine said he realised the lyrics were disgusting after moving overseas and escaping “a culture of toxic masculinity and the cheap, crude humour of hip hop”.
“I am so ashamed of those things that I once said,” he said.
Mr McAlpine — performing under the pseudonym FatGut — alludes to domestic violence in a rap about a breakup.
“It hurts me to the end because I want to hurt my f***ing girlfriend,” he says.
Vic Greens leader @SamanthaRatnam faces questions on whether the party has a cultural problem and why they’re standing by a man who rapped about date raping and domestic violence when a female candidate was dumped for boasting about shoplifting #springst https://t.co/PVUxlqJQha pic.twitter.com/XAFhZUKNg7
— Monique Hore (@moniquehore) November 13, 2018
In several explicit tracks, Broken Aesthetiks also rap about stealing a police car, ram raiding stores, being arrested for being drunk and drug taking.
“We’re selling PCPs (the drug phencyclidine) to stop being poor c***s ’cos lining up in Centrelink was never a hobby of mine,” Mr McAlphine says in one song.
He then goes on to talk about violating well-known Australian TV personalities — including the entire female cast of Neighbours.
A string of other celebrities, including musicians, TV hosts and sports stars, are also targeted in the group’s music.
In a statement issued last night, Mr McAlpine said he was no longer part of the band and apologised for its lyrics.
He was 21 years old when Broken Aesthetiks’ album was released in 2010.
“They did not reflect my views then and don’t reflect my values now,” he said.
“They were written for shock value when I was young and should have known better.
“I regret them deeply and am committed to the values of equality and peace which led me to join the Greens in the years since my involvement with the band.”
Broken Aesthetiks album “Broke”, with tracks including “S*** Talkers” and “Strike Her Eyes”, is still available on online streaming sites.
Mr McAlpine said he had taken steps to have the music wiped but had little control over some streaming services.
He admits in one tune that he “don’t care for politics”, while in another he says the “scene” has “more arseholes and opinions than Parliament House”.
The candidate for the western suburbs seat has been campaigning to “put a plumber in parliament”.
On the weekend he posted to social media about enjoying a “well-deserved watermelon juice” with an environmentally-friendly reusable straw — a far cry from his booze-filled antics as a rapper.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy said it was illuminating exposure of Greens values that they had backed a candidate that rapped about date rape and drug dealing.
“The Greens purport to be a party that supports things like gender equality they have backed this candidate in. This candidate that has said such offensive things about women is the star of their advertisements, they have gone missing when it comes to justifying their behaviour,” She said.
“We’ve heard about fake news but I think we are seeing a lot about fake values when it comes to the Greens and their failure to stand up, they have obviously gone into hiding on this issue and it is a real test of their character.”
Ms Hennessy said the arguments that he performed the lyrics for “shock value” when he was young did not wash.
“I don’t care if you are 21, 31 or 41 going out and putting in the public domain something that encourages date rape is incredibly vile and abusive is unacceptable.
“I think it has no place in our parliament and the Greens need to stand up on this issue.
“If the Greens are backing this guy in it the community is entitled to ask serious questions about how authentic the Greens commitment is to treating women with respect.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said he believed there was a cultural problem with the Greens.
He said the party’s unwillingness to take action against the candidate raised questions if it was a party that was willing to tackle violence against women.
Ms Ratnam defended her party’s decision to stand by Mr McAlpine, despite a female candidate withdrawing from the election race for boasting online about shop lifting.
She denied this flew in the face of the Greens’ policies on equality and women’s rights.
The scandal comes as Greens NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham faces sexual harassment allegations and after former Victorian leader Greg Barber reached a $56,000 settlement with an ex-staff member.
Asked whether the Greens had a cultural problem, Ms Ratnam said: “the world has a problem.”
Vic Greens leader @SamanthaRatnam faces questions on whether the party has a cultural problem and why they’re standing by a man who rapped about date raping and domestic violence when a female candidate was dumped for boasting about shoplifting #springst https://t.co/PVUxlqJQha pic.twitter.com/XAFhZUKNg7
— Monique Hore (@moniquehore) November 13, 2018
“Those lyrics were reprehensible, unacceptable and have no place in our community,” she said.
“It speaks to the culture of toxic masculinity that so many men, so many young men are vulnerable to and fall prey to.
“If we are going to change the culture of toxic masculinity we need more men to own up, take responsibility and commit to change.”
Ms Ratnam admitted that there were “big gaps in our processes” of vetting candidates, and that she was not aware of the lyrics or Mr McAlpine’s history as a rapper before it was revealed by the Herald Sun.
However, Mr McAlpine told journalists that he had admitted to the party during its probity process that he had “engaged in music that has been incredibly disgusting”.
Mr McAlpine is the second Greens candidate to be embroiled in a scandal this election campaign.
Upper house hopeful Joanna Nilson bowed out of the election race when the Herald Sun revealed she had boasted online about shoplifting and drug-taking.
Liberal candidate Neelam Rai also quit after revelations she was the face of an unregistered “charity”, while Labor’s Peter Lockwood withdrew amid allegations that he assaulted a party rival.
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