Briggs, Birdz, Thelma Plum & More Call Out 'Deadshit' For Racist Costume

Members of the country's Indigenous community have hit back against a white footballer after an image of the man, dressed in a manner imitative of an Aboriginal Australian and holding a petrol can, went viral online.

Fabian Natoli, a former player for the Manly Marlins rugby union side and current player for French squad Bordeaux Begles, posted the photo to his now-private Instagram account with the caption, "Every now and then you just need to culturally enrich yourself and get in touch with the dreamtime #nookstock".

The move swiftly earned broad criticism across social media from well-known Indigenous identities including members of the music world such as rappers Briggs, Nooky and Birdz, as well as singer-songwriter Thelma Plum, joining together to lead a chorus of individuals highlighting not just the photo in question but several other instances of Natoli acting offensively.

"What did I tell you about white guys with dreads?" Briggs tweeted on the matter. "Gronks."

"DEAD SHIT OF THE DAY GOES TO WHITE GUY WITH DREDS," Plum posted on Instagram in a since-deleted takedown. "Ps your rig is shit and true God I wish you rocked up to the Koori kick off like this yesterdayyyyyyy @fabiannatoli."

Nooky simply addressed Natoli as a "fuckhead", lamenting the frequency with which stories such as this seem to rear their heads ("every three months"), while Birdz — who only just put out a single addressing issues such as this in the vital Black Lives Matter — broke down the elements of "Racism in Australia 101", from the initial step of committing a racist act through to, well, being really sorry about being caught committing a racist act.

"That is why we say Black Lives Matter," Birdz wrote on social media. "Because racist fools like @fabiannatoli say we don't.

"Your actions speak louder than your weak & contradicting apologies."

​As The Guardian notes, also expressing their dissent was Cleverman creator Ryan Griffen, who asserted on Twitter, "Apology or not this is clearly racist and so was its intent." He later elaborated: "One thing we shouldn't forget with these photos are the amounts of likes they get.

"Racism in this country is stronger than you realise." 

Prior to Plum deleting her post, Natoli had offered an apology for the "joke" (which, yes, he tried to defend first) before ultimately setting his accounts to private because he "cbf dealing with all the threats". 

What did I tell you about white dudes with dreadlocks? Gronks. pic.twitter.com/rvm4dlDhJ8

— BRIGGS AKA BIG SIGH (@BriggsGE) October 3, 2016