After watching the return of Big Brother last week, prominent Greek Australian writer, actor, director and comedian Nick Giannopoulos made an obvious observation – there were no members of the Australian house mates of multicultural background.
On August 14, Giannopoulos tweeted and commented on his facebook page: “Big Brother house must be in Ramsay St. No Blacks, no Asians and no wogs.” This message on his facebook page received nearly 15,000 likes, over 1000 comments and was shared by more than 300 of his followers meaning his message was felt by the community all over.
The day after his post, a house mate named George of Greek descent had entered the reality tv show.
But it was the response to his initial comment that created this dialogue by Giannopoulos to his followers:
“Wow! My Big Brother posts received over 15,000 likes and over 1,000 comments. I’m rapt that our identity as Aussies and how we are represented by the media is something so many of you are passionate about. So here’s how I feel,” the actor began.
“I am a very proud Aussie BUT I’m also very proud of my Greek heritage as millions of others in Oz are proud of their cultural heritage whatever it may be. I’m sick of this attitude that if you refer to your heritage or are proud of it that somehow makes you less Aussie. The very best thing about Australia is it’s multiculturalism. It’s what makes this country one of the best places in the world to live. It’s what makes us unique.
We are the envy of the world. So let’s all be LOUD & PROUD and wear all our different cultures & colours with enormous pride. It’s what being an Aussie is all about.”
This comment alone garnered a huge response on his facebook page.
If you’d like to comment on Nick Giannopoulos’ facebook page, you can follow join the conversation at www.facebook.com/nickg1 or follow on twitter @NikGiannopoulos.