Advertisement

Farah 'sorry' for noose tweet

Rugby League star Robbie Farah has penned a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard to apologise for any hurt caused by a controversial tweet he sent her last year.

The Wests Tigers captain was set to meet the PM to discuss ways of tackling online 'trolls', but was reminded of an offensive tweet he posted and later deleted in 2011, suggesting Ms Gillard be given a noose for her 50th birthday.

Courtesy of @karalee_
Courtesy of @karalee_

He followed up with a tweet stating that some Twitter users can't take a joke.

"Lighten up people," Farah wrote.

But Farah today apologised for the tweet exposed by a social media commentator, admitting it was 'highly offensive'.

"At the time I did think about what I had done and removed the ‘tweet’ soon after posting it but that of course doesn’t repair the damage," he said in a statement.

"I make no excuse and offer my sincere apologies. I can only say that I have learnt a lot in recent days and I hope that everyone in the community can learn about the pain that we can cause through such comments.

"Hopefully the whole situation will only serve to encourage everyone to think about what we are really saying before we hit the ‘send’ key."

The NRL star made headlines this week when he spoke out about vile tweets that were posted about his late mother Sonia, who died in June.

He called on the Prime Minister to crack down on online abuse and said everyone needs to make a stand against these 'Twitter scum'.

"The laws are piss weak and people should be accountable for their comments," Farah wrote.

"We need to take some action and change these soft laws. People need to be accountable for their comments. #makeastand."

He later tweeted: "Sorry @JuliaGillard I just heard the terrible news about your father. Very sorry for your loss. Prayers are with you."
Digital strategist Karalee Evans tracked down the comments, which have been removed from Robbie Farah's Twitter account.