As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continued into 2024, Arab-Australian poet Omar Sakr found himself the subject of News Corp headlines. It was not for the first time, but this time it carried an unusual charge.
“Bluey episode ‘Cricket’ accused by poet Omar Sakr of promoting ‘genocide’,” read the headline by News Corp’s biggest digital publication, news.com.au.
The article, which had no author byline, claimed Sakr had accused Bluey of promoting genocide — he hadn’t — before going on to summarise social media reactions to the poem and the episode itself.
“Cricket”, released to coincide with the 2023 Ashes, was one of the most-watched and widely-loved episodes of the hit children’s TV show, telling the story of Bluey’s best friend Rusty as he learns to conquer his fears through cricket.
One particular scene shows Rusty’s dad, pictured in army fatigues whilst away on deployment, writing back to give Rusty some life lessons and a stern instruction to take care of his little sister.
It would inspire Sakr’s poem, “Bluey in the genocide”, the second half of which reads:
“And there is the distant dad
In combat fatigues, and I learn
Even in this cartoon world
There is a desert full of dogs
Soldiers and guns, and somewhere
Out of frame, Arabs being put down.”
Sakr said the first time he was made aware of the story (which was subsequently mirrored by Sky News and the Daily Mail) was after waking up to “some really hateful messages” on Instagram and via email.
“That was already unusual — normally I only get those kinds of messages when something I’ve written or said has gone outside my usual audience. So I just had a quick look, Googled, and I saw this news.com.au article existed,” Sakr told Crikey.
The news.com.au article has since had its headline and lead paragraph amended, removing the word “genocide” and instead describing the poem as Sakr’s “strong take” on the episode.
Crikey contacted news.com.au for comment for this article, and asked why (as is generally standard practice) Sakr was not contacted for comment, as well as why the article had no byline, what the publication’s policies are regarding “staff writers” pieces, why the headline choice was made and why it has since been changed, though they did not respond in time for publication. The article did note that the ABC, which developed the series, was contacted for comment.
Sakr said none of the outlets that covered the poem contacted him for comment, for which there was “no excuse”, and he likewise hasn’t contacted them after the fact as he doesn’t see the point in doing so about an article that is “deliberately disingenuous in its reading”.
“If there was a genuine conversation to be had around the poem, then that would have been easily arranged,” he said. “I’m an easily contactable person, ask any of the racists who send me messages.”
Asked whether he was considering his legal options, Sakr said he had contacted a lawyer.
“It’s fucked — if you google it, there’s still a half-dozen or more articles with this headline, that I’ve accused Bluey of promoting genocide … it just tries to make me a figure of ridicule.”
Sakr said he found the substantive reactions to the poem more illuminating in terms of where Australian society sits, telling Crikey there were generally two types of responses he received, the second of which defended the fact that the military portrayal was in likelihood set somewhere like Afghanistan or Iraq.
“We know, implicitly, where this Australian cartoon military figure is. We implicitly understand who is subject to that figure’s potential violence.”
Asked about what motivated him to write the poem, Sakr said he took a different approach with his most recent tranche of poems, posted directly to social media.
“There is a distinct political purpose, in not just the writing, but also the fact that I am offering it as directly and freely as I am. And that is because I am trying to make as much noise as possible — or rather, to cut through the noise, and to say plainly what so many people in the media seem to be contorting themselves out of shape to not say.”
Discussing the Australian approach to coverage of the conflict, Sakr took issue with the concept of objectivity as it is constructed in the Australian media.
“This is often the framing — we have to be objective, but the objectivity is only ever raised in relation to what is deemed to be pro-Palestinian. There’s never an issue with anybody being pro-Israeli — that is considered to be objective.”
“It’s a joke — this continued reference to objectivity. It’s not real.”
Asked, finally, what he might say to the anonymous News Corp journalist that never contacted him, Sakr said he would underline the gravity of the situation and death toll in Palestine: “Get your fucking priorities right.”
