War of words over raunchy dance at naval base in Sydney

They were hired to perform at the unveiling of a new warship at an Australian naval base, but the only thing remotely military about the band of twerking dancers was their catchy name – 101 Doll Squadron.

The performance they staged, in which they gyrated and twerked to hip-hop music in front of an audience of senior military officers, caused a furore in Australia with critics saying it was inappropriate for the launch of a $2bn (€1.3bn) warship.

Naval officers in crisp white uniforms appeared bewildered by the hip-thrusting dance show, which took place at
Garden Island in Sydney.

“What would Horatio Nelson think of this s--- show?” one MP reportedly asked. Others said the Australian military had become “too woke”.

The dance troupe, consisting of seven women, performed their routine at the weekend dressed in tight black shorts and red crop tops in front of the new vessel, HMAS Supply.

The row took a further twist when it emerged that the ABC, Australia’s national broadcaster, produced a report in which it showed the risqué performance being watched by a stony-faced David Hurley, the governor-general and the representative of Queen Elizabeth in Australia, a Commonwealth nation.

But he had not arrived at the event when the twerking routine was being performed and nor had another senior official that the ABC included in its report – Michael Noonan, the head of the Royal Australian Navy. The ABC apologised for splicing images of the officers with footage of the dance show.

Angus Campbell, the chief of the Australian Defence Force, was present to witness the twerking however.

The broadcaster also came under fire from the dancers, who said they were hurt by the controversy. Even the prime minister was dragged into the row. Scott Morrison said he was disappointed over the ABC’s “misreporting”.

“Obviously, Defence will look at these matters and make whatever changes they wish to in the future, and I’ll leave that to them,” he said.

In a statement, the ABC said it had updated its footage to reflect the fact that the governor-general and chief of navy were not in attendance for the routine and apologised for the error.

The Australian Defence Force was given a sharp reminder, meanwhile, that its mission should have little to do with dance troupes or twerking.

Andrew Hastie, a former Australian SAS soldier and the assistant defence minister, said that the military’s main objective would always be “the application of lethal violence” to defend the country’s interests.

Phillip Thompson, an MP from the Liberal Party and also a former soldier, backed him up, saying: “We’ve gone a little bit woke over the past few years, and we can’t afford to be doing that.”

He said a dance performance by scantily clad women was not the right way to mark the launch of a new warship.

The military said it was part of an effort to integrate with society.

Online Editors