Teen eggs an Australian official after his racist reaction to the New Zealand shooting
UPDATE: March 18, 2019, 8:31 a.m. EDT Updated with information on the GoFundMe to raise money for the teen.
One Australian teen gave the world a much-needed moment of catharsis on Saturday, egging Australian senator Fraser Anning over his reaction to the horrific Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooting and taking a punch in the face for his efforts.
Video of the incident, showing the teen sliding up behind Anning while he spoke to reporters, immediately went viral. The teen splats an egg on the back of Anning's head, filming the whole thing with his phone, which prompted Anning to spin around and throw a punch at the kid.
Someone has just slapped an egg on the back of Australian Senator Fraser Anning's head, who immediately turned around and punched him in the face. @politicsabc @abcnews pic.twitter.com/HkDZe2rn0X
— Henry Belot (@Henry_Belot) March 16, 2019
The egging was almost certainly in response to Anning's awful statement to the New Zealand mosque shootings, which killed 49 people on Friday.
SEE ALSO: Police urge people to stop sharing that Christchurch shooter video online
In the wake of the tragedy, Anning issued a statement directly blaming Muslim immigrants for the attacks, saying, "The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place."
After the devastating attacks on mosques in Christchurch today, this is Queensland Senator Fraser Anning's response #auspol pic.twitter.com/eLKzIXjBcQ
— Felicity Caldwell (@fel_caldwell) March 15, 2019
The grotesque response, as well as statements he made on Saturday about the killer, are so steeped in Islamophobia and racism that a single egg seems far too kind. Punching the kid multiple times also seems like a poor response but here we are.
So now the teen, punch to the face and all, has quickly become the latest internet folk hero. There's even a GoFundMe fundraiser for the teen because of course there is. Aiming to raise $2,000 for him to pay any potential legal fees and "buy more eggs," it had eclipsed $5,000 by 11:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time Saturday morning. (On Monday, as the total amount approached $50,000, the teen said he would be donating most of the money to victims of the massacre).
And Twitter responded in kind, too.
If Fraser Anning didn't want to get slapped with an egg, he shouldn't have allowed eggs into his country. https://t.co/gfMNYsZjWn
— Zing Tsjeng (@misszing) March 16, 2019
The new avengers movie looks sick #eggboy #EggANazi #eggboi @fraser_anning pic.twitter.com/ABffD4ZAwc
— Austin Carlile (@AustinJCarlile) March 16, 2019
The guy who threw his shoes at Bush/the Australian kid who egged that fascist senator 2020
— Paul Blest (@pblest) March 16, 2019
According to media reports, the teen was released by police without any charges being filed.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned Anning's comments, tweeting that they "have no place in Australia."
The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting. Those views have no place in Australia, let alone the Australian Parliament.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 15, 2019
In the wake of the attacks, several efforts are underway to support the local Muslim community in Christchurch, including one by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Following 2 hate-inspired shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people, the Muslim community in Pittsburgh raised thousands of dollars in support.
WATCH: A 16-year-old girl is on her way to become the first ballerina to wear a hijab
