Key Points
- US rapper MC Hammer has expressed support for the Yes campaign in Australia's Voice to Parliament referendum.
- He said he became aware of the issue when he was tagged in a post on social media.
- Overnight, Australian singer Kamahl wrote on X he'd be voting Yes, but later deleted the post.
A surprising new supporter has emerged for the Yes campaign ahead of Australia's Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
On Thursday night AEST, American rapper MC Hammer expressed his support for the Voice in a series of posts on the platform X.
"I’m with you. Australia it’s time. Repair the breach," he wrote.
He noted Australia has no treaty with its Indigenous people, and said it has done "little in comparison to other British dominions" to include and uplift First Nations people.
The rapper, whose real name is Stanley Kirk Burrell, said he had had to "get up to speed" on the issue after being tagged in a post.
When followers questioned his interest in the referendum, rather than focusing on domestic issues in the United States, he said the world was "inextricably linked".
"Because the world is inextricably linked I cannot avoid your politics," he wrote.
"Politics is the relationships between people."
MC Hammer, whose biggest hit, U Can't Touch This, was released in 1990, is not the first US celebrity to support Australia enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament into the constitution.
In August last year, Labor recruited retired .
O'Neal appeared briefly at a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney while in Australia on a speaking tour.
His support drew mixed responses, with leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price describing his involvement as "insulting".
"I've no doubt Shaq’s a top bloke, but it’s a bit insulting to call on a black American to help with black Australians as if this is all about the colour of one’s skin," she said in a Facebook post at the time.
On Wednesday night, Malaysian-Australian singer Kamahl - who has previously said he would vote No - appeared to change his stance.
"I'm damned if Vote YES and I'll be damed if I Vote NO ! Having spent sleepless nights weighing the pros and cons, I'll be damed and I'll Vote YES !" he wrote on X.
Kamahl added that he had played an Aboriginal man in the 1967 film Journey Out of Darkness, shortly before the referendum that year.
Kamahl later deleted his tweet.
In recent weeks, he has made several posts about the referendum, with some indicating support for the No campaign, and some indicating he was undecided.
Australian celebrities including Celeste Barber, Tom Gleeson, Magda Szubanski and Paul Kelly are also supporting the Yes campaign.
Last week, , who is a Kuku Yalanji and Birri Gubba woman, added her voice to the Yes campaign.
"Right now, each of us can be part of something that really matters," she said in a video.
"To stand together and to show our support for Australians who need it most. To recognise Indigenous peoples in our constitution for the very first time, to give our kids the very best start in life. An equal start in life.
"To open our hearts, and change our future.
"I'm voting yes, and I am asking that all Australians do too."
Australians will head to the ballot box on 14 October to vote.
Stay informed on the 2023 Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum from across the SBS Network, including First Nations perspectives through NITV.
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