


An Australian influencer has caused a stir online after posting a video of her twerking “for the troops” on Anzac Day.
April 25 is arguably the most solemn day on the national calendar, when thousands of Australians and New Zealanders commemorate the landing of Anzac [Australian and New Zealand Army Corps] troops at Gallipoli in World War I.
Many of them paid the ultimate sacrifice.
On what would be the 108th anniversary of that landing, there were emotional scenes at dawn services and marches around the country — and the world – with young and old gathering to honor our service men and women.
But comedian Bianka Ismailovski paid a different kind of tribute to the troops, by posting a video of her laughing and twerking on social media.
“Spent this morning twerking but then rmemebered [sic] it’s Anzac Day so I guess I’m throwing it back for them,” she wrote on the video.
“Lest we forget x”
In the next video Bianka addressed the seemingly inevitable controversy her ‘tribute’ was going to make.
“I know some people (are) going to be like ‘that’s disrespectful’, but is it? Me shaking this beautiful juicy a–?” she said.
“I’m doing it for the troops, okay? We all honor in our own way. I’m doing what I think they would like if I’m honest. I’m basically Bette Midler at this point.”
The Bette Midler reference may be for the singer’s performance as Dixie Leanord in the 1991 war movie For The Boys.’
But, even so, it seems the whole gag has fallen flat, with Australia’s own influencer watchdog account Influencer Tea Aus slamming the post.
“This ain’t it! Comedian or not … humor has its place. I don’t think Anzac Day is it,” the account rebutted in their own post.
Bianka’s post is markedly different to the thousands of humble tributes posted by other Australian figures who attended dawn services and marches to pay their respects.
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Many were among the thousands who joined the crowds at cenotaphs around the country or flooded streets to cheer servicemen and women marching in Anzac Day parades.
Meanwhile it seemed just as many flocked to pubs and hotels around the country for an afternoon of two-up – a revival of an old gambling game popularized by Aussie troops during WWI – until dusk.
But even scenes at the classic Anzac Day pub event have sparked similar debate about decorum on the solemn occasion, after one woman was snapped doing a shoey at two-up.
The post by Bianka – a self-proclaimed “ethically non-monogamous sober bisexual divorcee comedian” – also struck a similarly strange tone as others posts wishing a “happy Anzac Day” across social media, a major no-no that has been panned by veterans.
“The word ‘happy’ shouldn’t be used … You say ‘Happy Easter’ and Christmas, but this is a solemn day and it’s not appropriate,” veteran David Sieber told The Daily Telegraph.
He said the phrase was “disrespectful” to those who were killed in combat, and that “today is an act of Remembrance.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reminded the thousands who gathered in the Canberra cold at the Australian War Memorial of that fact.
“Every Anzac Day, from the greatest memorial to the simplest cenotaph, we honor all who have served in our name, and all who serve today,” he said.
“It is a collective act of remembrance, reflection and gratitude – one carried out by multiple generations of Australians and devoted to multiple generations.”
He paid a reminder, too, of the ongoing “battle within” that many service men and women face when they come home from combat – “a battle that, tragically, is not always won.”
“If we are to truly honor our veterans, we owe them something more than just gratitude. Just as they stepped up for us, we must step up for them.”