Image of MP George Christensen, posing in a singlet clutching a whip, is causing some people to feel faint
IS THIS “the gayest photo ever”? Australian actress Magda Szubanksi thinks so, but the person who the image is of isn’t so sure. What do you think?
IT’S an image that once seen cannot be unseen.
That rustic leather whip, those luxuriant curls, that deep blue singlet, those fulsome arms flecked with downy hair and sporting a tattoo of our saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nationals MP George Christensen, a man so far to the right of his party one more lurch and he’d fall headfirst into the eager arms of Pauline Hanson, has bared more flesh than anyone of us were expecting or possibly desired.
For a feature in this weekend’s Fairfax Good Weekend, the MP for Dawson in Queensland has swapped his suit for a singlet in a revealing photo shoot.
The reaction has been immediate. Author and actor Magda Szubanski has said she wants to play him in an upcoming biopic — but only because he looks like a lesbian.
The Nationals whip is taking it in his stride, Tweeting he is enjoying his new found and “R rated” fame.
He told news.com.au, “From the moment the photographer suggested the pic, I knew it would cause a social media storm”.
Mr Christensen is known as the firebrand of the Nationals party. He has cropped up at anti — immigration rallies staged by far right groups, regularly rails against same-sex marriage and said the recent equalisation of the age of consent for gay and straight couples in Queensland, “made it legal for 50 year old men to have sex with 16 year old boys.”
Name a more homoerotic picture. I'll wait. pic.twitter.com/r7bB8kQlOO
— Sally Rugg (@sallyrugg) November 30, 2016
But to some in the gay community, his photo shoot has, shall we say, a certain quality about it.
Magda Szubanski, famous for her role as Sharon in Kath and Kim, was overjoyed by the picture.
“Mixed messages much? This is, bar none, the GAYEST image I’ve ever seen! Totes could pass for 1 of my lezzo mates,” said the out gay actor online.
“I know what my next film role is! I will play George Christensen in biopic of his life as a closet S & M lesbian!”
The MP replied he can’t wait to see it.
I would pay good money to see that movie. https://t.co/7MjmvapYlQ
— George Christensen (@GChristensenMP) December 1, 2016
Others called the picture clearly “homoerotic” and suggested perhaps Mr Christensen’s opposition to marriage equality was cooling.
For his part Mr Christensen seems to be loving the attention retweeting tweets from people imploring others to stop retweeting the picture.
”It’s all in good fun and there’s some creative people out there with a good sense of humour, so that’s been entertaining,” he told news.com.au.
“It’s interesting to see the personal attacks and comments based on race, religion, appearance, and sexual preference are all going unchallenged. I’m not offended by the comments themselves but the I find the hypocrisy highly offensive.”
It's interesting that so many Lefty Twitter warriors are saying my @smh photo is "gay" like it's some sort of insult. Homophobic much?
— George Christensen (@GChristensenMP) December 1, 2016
He revelled in the fact Malcolm Turnbull publicly talked about it at an event on Wednesday.
It even elected a rare moment of entente cordial between Green Leader Richard Di Natale and Mr Christensen — hardly buzzies at the best of times.
“Quickly, someone get the man a skivvy,” tweeted Mr Di Natale.
The photo is a window into the soul of Mr Christensen.
The whip he is carrying is a historic totem for the party. Crafted in 1917, the stockwhip has been presented to the Nationals party whip ever since.
After Wednesday’s protest during Prime Minister Question Time, Mr Christensen Tweeted out an image of the whip with the caption, “Say hello to my little friend, hippies.”
The tattoo, Good Weekend reported, is a marker of his conversion from Catholicism to Orthodoxy and features the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
In the same article, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said there was “no reason” why the divisive MP couldn’t one day become a minister.
You're welcome. pic.twitter.com/19auA18atj
— Craig Andrew Batty (@ResignInShame) November 30, 2016
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