Labor senator deletes Anzac Day Instagram post after mistakenly including raunchy rap song
Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper Chingy
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A federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations.
Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces.
But the post also used the song A$$ N Da Aurr by American rapper Chingy. Guardian Australia understands the rap song was mistakenly included in Polley’s Instagram post.
It is the latest colourful social media contribution from the long-serving Tasmanian, whose online videos about cooking in her parliamentary office on a George Foreman grill have gained notoriety in the political arena.
The images in last weekend’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving a speech at an Anzac Day ceremony at the Launceston cenotaph. Polley also included images of herself seated next to fellow Labor MP Jess Teesdale, holding large floral wreaths.
Polley has about 1,700 followers on her official political Instagram page, and about 80 followers on a separate Instagram page also bearing her name and headshot. The clip in question was posted on the smaller page, which shares many of the same videos and posts as her main page.
The clip featured both audio of an instrumental version of the Australian national anthem and audio of the Chingy song, from the rapper’s 2006 album Hoodstar.
Lyrics featured in the clip posted by Polley include “Move dat ass, all around put your hands in da air, now put ya hands on the ground, put your ass in da air”.
Guardian Australia on Monday approached Polley’s office and the office of the prime minister about the clip. Shortly afterward, the clip was deleted.
A spokesperson said in a statement that Polley “has spent her life giving thanks to those who have served our nation – including her father who served in World War Two and was part of Tasmania’s incredible 2/40th Infantry Battalion”.
“The Senator has written and spoken at length about her father’s bravery and how it has inspired her, and gave thanks again at Saturday’s service in Launceston to all of our service men and women,” they said.
Before the video was deleted, it attracted about a dozen comments.
“Odd choice of music for an Anzac Day collection,” one person wrote.
“The music choice isn’t good,” said another.
“What the actual fuck with this music,” read a third comment.
Polley has held her seat in the Tasmania Senate since first being elected in 2004.
She has published a regular series of lighthearted videos about cooking on the Foreman grill in her office, which she jokingly talks to and refers to as “George”. In 2024, she inadvertently sparked a minor political meme by accidentally referring to Labor colleague Dan Repacholi as “Mr Ravioli” during a committee hearing.
Repacholi and Polley later posted a video of themselves eating ravioli together, joined by Polley’s George Foreman grill.
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