A 17-year-old Australian boy has become an international sensation after egging a lawmaker who suggested that Muslim immigration was to blame for last week’s deadly massacre at two New Zealand mosques.
During a TV interview on Saturday, Anning “felt a taste of the public fury against him when [the teenager] ambushed him and cracked a raw egg over his head”, says News.com.au.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a clip seen by millions, Anning then turns around and strikes out at his young assailant twice, before the senator’s supporters seize the boy and wrestle him to the floor.
Wellwishers quickly flooded social media with messages of support under the hashtag “#eggboy”, with some suggesting he deserved a place alongside the likes of Steve Irwin in the pantheon of legendary Australians.
He has since been identified as Will Connolly, a 17-year-old from Melbourne
Family friend Kate Forster described Connolly as “a great kid and really principled”, and praised his bravery and sense of humour.
Since shooting to viral fame, the teen has been “inundated with offers of free concert tickets from Australian bands”, as well as promises of free food and drink around the world, says the Daily Mail.
A mural has even appeared on a wall in Melbourne depicting the moment of the egging.
.In a tweet, Connolly thanked his supporters, and said that the response to his gesture had been “overwhelming”:
Police arrested Connolly at the scene, but later confirmed that he had been released without charge.
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
‘But being a “hot” country does not make you a good country’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why have homicide rates reportedly plummeted in the last year?Today’s Big Question There could be more to the issue than politics
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probe
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
