The selfie so explosive firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe had to delete it after it sparked a furious backlash – and the bizarre message it carried

Firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe has backtracked on a photo of herself wearing a Hamas-style headband, saying she didn’t realise it was linked to the terrorist group.

The independent Victorian senator attracted heavy criticism when she posted the controversial selfie on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday afternoon.

In the photo, Ms Thorpe – who openly supports Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel – could be seen smiling while holding a mug and wearing a green headband that said ‘I love chocolate milk’ in Arabic script.

The caption, alongside two chocolate bar emojis, read: ‘I wholeheartedly support this message. I hope you do too!’

Users were quick to condemn the senator for posing with the green headband, which was near-identical to the kind often worn by Hamas terrorists and supporters.

Ms Thorpe had removed the photo from her profile by Wednesday morning, but not before her critics reposted screenshots all over the social media platform.

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Ms Thorpe explained she was gifted the headband and did not realise it resembled garments worn by Hamas.

‘This was intended as a lighthearted post about chocolate milk to the many Arabic speaking people I have met and worked with in my career,’ she said.

‘When I realised that people drew a connection that was not at all intended and became upset, I deleted the post. 

‘I didn’t mean to cause harm or distress, and I apologise to those who were upset by it.

‘My advocacy around Palestine is about pushing for peace and an end to the violence we’re seeing every day.’

She then called on the Australian government to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and pledged to focus on those issues.

When she first posted the photo on Tuesday, she was heavily criticised by X users who accused her of ‘dressing up’ as a terrorist.

Others slammed the post as offensive and divisive.

One user said: ‘Shame on you Lidia Thorpe.’

Another wrote: ‘A politician in a democratically governed country, puts on a terrorist costume. What a strange personality Lidia Thorpe is.’

A third user wrote: ‘Lidia Thorpe just posted a picture of herself with a H*mas headband … Supporting the “H*mas message” is supporting a genocide against all Jews. This is appalling.

Ms Thorpe is an Indigenous activist who was a member of the Greens until 2023 when she became an independent representing the Blak Sovereign Movement.

On Monday, she addressed a ‘free Palestine’ rally in Melbourne, comparing the violence in Gaza to the attempted genocide of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.

‘As blackfellas in this country, we know what it’s like to be targeted by the coloniser, every minute of every day,’ she told the crowd.

‘And as soon as we step one foot wrong… their boot is on our neck. 

‘We become the perpetrator, we become the enemy for standing up against the genocide, for standing up against an injustice.’

She mentioned newly independent Western Australian senator Fatima Payman, who dramatically resigned from the Labor Party earlier in July over its failure to take a proper stance on the conflict in Gaza.

Ms Payman claimed she had been ostracised by the Labor caucus for speaking out about the issue, and defied party bosses to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Parliament.

‘Look at Senator Payman and how she was treated every day when she crossed that floor,’ Ms Thorpe told the crowd on Monday.

‘But I can tell you now, with Senator Payman on the crossbench, we are going to hold them all to account.’

At the parliamentary Mid-Winter Ball on July 3, Ms Thorpe arrived in a pro-Palestine dress with the divisive phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ embroidered down the front.

The dress also had a blood-stained look at the bottom, while her handbag carried the slogan: ‘Love Harder.’