‘Racism sucks’: Tony Armstrong defends call for Aussies to pay for wrongs of colonial past

The TV personality has pushed back against racist online trolls who criticised him for supporting a campaign that urges Aussies to redistribute wealth gained from colonisation.

Tony Armstrong has copped criticism for throwing his weight behind the #WealthBack campaign.

Former ABC News Breakfast host Tony Armstrong has pushed back against racist online trolls, after he was criticised for throwing his weight behind a campaign calling for Australians to recognise and redistribute the wealth gained from the nation’s colonial past.

The First Nations Future’s #WealthBack campaign aims to raise at least $400,000 for projects in Indigenous communities through “weekly or monthly” recurring donations.

“The continuous impacts of colonisation have created unequal ground within Australia, where settlers continually benefit economically from the colonisation of First Nations people and lands. The effects have meant that non-Indigenous people have disproportionate power and access to wealth and resources,” the campaign’s website reads.

“It is time for all people in Australia to take responsibility, redistribute wealth and invest in First Nations communities creating intergenerational change.”

Tony Armstrong has thrown his weight behind the #WealthBack campaign on Instagram.

The 35-year-old media personality shared his support for the campaign in a social media post on Thursday, with the caption: “Reckon it’s time everyone starts redistributing ayy (sic).”

Armstrong received backlash for the post, with one person saying: “This smug turd is annoying”, while another called him “A f**ing ego w**ker”.

He shared other similar “shit” posts that featured racist comments.

Tony Armstrong with his 2023 Logie for the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter. Source: Instagram

The former AFL player clapped back in a separate post on Friday evening, revealing he was “really angry” about what had unfolded.

“I don’t often share stuff that comes my way. I normally just let it go, because I don’t wanna make a fuss, which is cooked in itself,” he wrote.

“This post is to show a snippet of some of the shit that’s come my way in just the last 24hrs. I know some people will look at this and think I need to get over it or think that they’re just words from people who don’t matter.

“But it hurts & I’m sick and tired of it. People are feeling really comfortable just being flat out racist without any real ramification. This is nothing new to me, but sometimes it gets ya. Today it did.”

Armstrong left the ABC’s breakfast program in October but continues to host series on the network, including Eat The Invaders.

Last year he was nominated for Gold Logie, after two successful years where he won the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter in 2023 and Best New Talent in 2022.

He is currently dating DT Rona Glynn-McDonald.

Originally published as ‘Racism sucks’: Tony Armstrong defends call for Aussies to pay for wrongs of colonial past