TV personality Basil Zempilas has rough start as Perth Lord Mayor

TV personality and new Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas started a firestorm with comments about trans people. It’s unlikely to be his last controversy.

Almost three decades as a TV personality should have better prepared Basil Zempilas to be the Perth Lord Mayor, but his recent transphobic comments are unlikely to be his last controversial remarks, a media expert warns.

Mr Zempilas had been in the job for less than two weeks when he made comments about transgender people that were slammed as “demeaning and derogatory” by TransFolk of WA and Pride WA.

“If you’ve got a penis, mate, you’re a bloke. If you’ve got a vagina, you’re a woman. Game over,” he said.

Mr Zempilas later issued a video apology via the City of Perth, saying he realised he had let people down and was now listening and learning.

“The comments I made were wrong and they don’t reflect how I feel … I made a mistake and it’s my mistake to accept. I have to be better and I will be better,” he said.

“It is a mistake that I will not make again.”

Steve Mills and Basil Zempilas have had a very successful breakfast radio program in Perth for years. Picture: Twitter/@6PRbreakfast

Curtin University associate professor in public relations Katharina Wolf told NCA NewsWire Mr Zempilas had not thought through his new appointment.

“He should have known better, but then again that’s what he’s known for … being flippant,” she said on Monday.

“I’m quite surprised he hasn’t had someone give him some advice.”

Ms Wolf said his apology also “didn’t fly” and noted he had initially declined to comment at all.

“His apology overall was very flippant,” she said.

Ms Wolf said she expected there would be more controversy to come from the new Lord Mayor down the track, adding he had a “very strong conflict of interest” with his media commitments.

Media personality Basil Zempilas has been widely condemned for his comments. Picture: Colin Murty/The Australian

During the radio segment, Mr Zempilas offered transgender listeners a $100 Retravision voucher if they called in to respond.

Retravision said it was a strong supporter of the LGBTQI+ community and did not endorse Mr Zempilas’ comments about the transgender and non-binary communities.

“We deeply regret that Mr Zempilas associated Retravision with his comments as we in no way support the views he shared,” the company said in a statement.

“Furthermore, we would like to stress that Retravision had not provided gift vouchers to 6PR in relation to this specific topic. As it stands now, Retravision has withdrawn its affiliation with the 6PR breakfast show.”

On Monday, it was reported Mr Zempilas’ family home had been graffitied but a spokesman for the WA Police Force could not confirm the media report.

The father-of-three did not respond to NCA NewsWire’s request for a comment.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas with his wife Amy and their children Ava, 9, Anthony, 3, and Chloe, 6. Their home was reportedly graffitied days after Mr Zempilas made transphobic comments. Picture: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Mr Zempilas played in the WA Football League for West Perth in the early 1990s before landing a job as a cadet sports reporter at Channel 7 in 1994 and became an anchor two years later.

He has been a regular contributor to the network’s Olympics coverage from 2000, bringing him wider fame on the east coast, and is part of the AFL broadcast team.

Mr Zempilas joined Steve Mills as co-host of the top-rating 6PR breakfast radio show in January 2014 and became a co-host of Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7 in 2018.

But he stepped down from that TV role the following year to spend more time with his young family.

After Mr Zempilas was elected Perth Lord Mayor last month, he confirmed he would leave 6PR at the end of the year too.

However, he will keep his job as a sports presenter for Seven West Media and continue to write a weekly column for The West Australian newspaper, which is owned by the same company.

Basil Zempilas courted controversy even before he was elected the Perth Lord Mayor. Picture: Colin Murty/The Australian

Controversy followed Mr Zempilas even before he was elected.

In a newspaper column, he wrote that he would “forcibly remove” homeless people from Perth’s streets, describing them as a “blight” on the city. He later apologised for the comments.

He was also criticised for using his media presence to promote himself as a candidate during the election campaign.

“The comments he made about the homeless was a bit of a wake-up call,” Ms Wolf said.

“There was a huge outcry and he had to back-pedal.”

A petition to have Mr Zempilas sacked has so far gathered more than 11,000 signatures.

“Prior to being appointed, he already made disgusting and shameful comments about the homeless of Perth, and how he will be pushing to have them kicked out of the city,” the petition reads.

“He has now followed this up with hateful, bigoted and appalling comments about trans and non-binary people.”