Legendary singer Kamahl said he feels ‘humiliated’ by the ABC’s Phillip Adams after the broadcaster claimed cricket icon Don Bradman treated him as ‘an honorary white’.
The host of ABC Late Night Live created a storm of controversy by making the claim on social media.
In the tweet on Thursday, Adams compared the cricket icon’s 13-year friendship with the popular entertainer with his reluctance to meet Nelson Mandela.
‘Clearly, Kamahl, [Bradman] made you an Honorary White. Whereas one of the most towering political figures of the 20th century was deemed unworthy of Bradman’s approval,’ Adams said in a tweet on Tuesday morning which later went viral.
Legendary singer Kamahl has described a tweet by the ABC’s Phillip Adams as ‘humiliating’ amid calls for the broadcaster to be sacked. Pictured, Kamahl with Australian actor Emma Roche
The host of ABC Late Night Live, Phillip Adams, created a storm of controversy by claiming cricket icon Don Bradman treated Kamahl as ‘an honorary white’
Broadcaster Phillip Adams sparked a storm of controversy with a demeaning tweet aimed at iconic entertainer Kamahl on Tuesday
The comment was blasted on Twitter, with Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine calling Adams ‘a disgrace’ and leading calls for his sacking.
Kamahl, now 88, told Daily Mail Australia he felt ‘humiliated’ by the remark and labelled Adams ‘a bully’.
‘I think he wanted to put me down, how dare I be so successful? How can I be black and be successful?
‘He was being flippant but he’s a bully, ironically Adams has possibly the best command of the English language and he chooses to be mean-spirited. I think he was trying to be nasty.’
Kamahl responded angrily to Adams on Twitter, calling the comment ‘disgusting’.
‘Daring to suggest that Sir Donald Bradman invited me to his home in August 1988 as a ‘token white’ is disgusting at best.
‘You may be white, but oh your soul is black!’
Kamahl said he was proud of his 13-year friendship with Bradman, which began with the singer name-checking the cricket icon in a 1988 song ‘What is Australia to Me?’
The pair exchanged almost 80 letters and Kamahl was a regular guest for lunch and dinner at Bradman’s home in Kensington Park, Adelaide.
Adams was slammed for his comment, with Mundine leading the attack, calling his comments ‘reprehensible’.
‘Phillip Adams you have disgrace yourself. You should be sacked,’ Mundine tweeted.
Later he added: ‘Or is white privilege going to cut in and Philip Adams going to get away with it?’
Kamahl said he was proud of his 13-year friendship with Bradman, which began with the singer name-checking the cricket icon in a 1988 song ‘What is Australia to Me?’
Aboriginal leader Warren Mundine (left) called Phillip Adams’ (right) comments about Kamahl ‘disgusting’
Human rights lawyer Sarah Joseph called on Adams to delete his tweet.
‘Yeah nah. You should delete this imo. It’s actually f***ing rude,’ wrote human rights lawyer Sarah Joseph.
The tweet was not removed.
‘What an appalling thing to say. Genuinely shocked at this,’ wrote public relations figure Gemma Tognini.
Adams hit back at Ms Tognini, ‘That’s because you don’t understand the history of the term as it was used by the apartheid regime.’
‘Honorary white’ was a term that was used by South Africa’s Apartheid regime in the 1960s to grant some of the rights and privileges of whites to non-whites.
Kamahl has been in the headlines in the past year over claims he endured racist treatment on the Hey Hey It’s Saturday Show – one particularly uncomfortable scene involved a stage hand throwing white powder in Kamahl’s face before a voice off-screen shouted ‘you’re a real white man now’
In one segment, Kamahl’s face was covered with white chalk dust while he sang – in one of many examples of controversial skits
But Bradman had no official connection to the regime and was partly responsible for cancelling the 1971 Australian tour of South Africa, though he is said to have later regretted that decision.
Bradman never met Mandela, but the real reason is he was sick when a meeting was possible.
The hero cricketer did however send a gift and a letter to Mandela, calling him ‘a champion of humanity and a man with a compassion for mankind’.
Although Kamahl’s friendship with Bradman didn’t begin until 1988, he told Daily Mail Australia the pair did meet 30 years earlier.
‘I first met Bradman in 1955,’ he said.
‘I took a hat-trick at Kensington with my first three balls and finished with 7-45 – I was a slow offspinner.
‘That evening we went to Kensington dressing room and while I was getting changed my fellow players said, ‘Do you have any idea who just shook your hand? It was Don Bradman.’
Kamahl believes Phillip Adams is ‘nasty’ and that he can’t accept his success. Kamahl with his ex-wife Sahodra, 82, pictured in 2009
Kamahl has been in the headlines in the past year over claims he endured racist treatment on the Hey Hey It’s Saturday show.
He said some of the show’s gags should never be repeated today.
The Malaysian-born Australian entertainer said he at times felt ‘humiliated’ on the beloved program.
The singer accepted his profile had been helped by appearing on shows such as Hey Hey, admitting he needed the exposure to build his career and popularity – though he didn’t realise what a ‘minefield’ it would be.
‘There were a number of instances where I felt humiliated, but I didn’t want to raise any objections or protest about it.’
He explained he coped with it by smiling and ‘pretending everything was ok’, not wanting to ruin his own career.
A montage of some of the most controversial Hey Hey gags involving Kamahl was shared on social media, drawing reactions mostly in support of the singer.
One skit showed an assistant rushing at Kamahl and covering his face with white powder, before a voice off screen yells: ‘You’re a real white man now Kamahl, you know that?’
Daily Mail Australia approached Phillip Adams for comment via an ABC representative.
The ABC declined to comment when asked whether Adams’ tweet was in breach of its guidelines for personal use of social media by its staff.
