The infamous group of young Aussie men who got themselves into a helluva lot of trouble in Malaysia recently have finally landed back in Australia.
ICYMI (somehow), the nine men (who some media sources called “The Budgie Nine” as a grossly inappropriate reference to the Bali 9) decided it a very good idea to offend the Malaysian people as a whole at the Sepang Formula 1 Grand Prix.
When Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo won the title, the men stripped down to figure-hugging budgie-smugglers, did shoeys, and rambunctiously sang ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi’.
While this might all seem like fun and games in Australia, in a more conservative country this is incredibly offensive and stupid. Like… don’t wear a country’s flag on your bum, y’know?
The nine appeared in court in Malaysia yesterday, reading out a sincere apology and claiming ‘we just didn’t know hey’ as their main line of defence. They all escaped criminal charges, and one of the men fainted in court.
Seven out of the nine men have now landed in Sydney Airport – Jack Walker, who is a defence advisor for Defence Minister Christopher Pyne reportedly remains back in Malaysia with his father for an undetermined amount of time. Another of the men flew to Canberra instead, likely in an attempt to avoid the media circus.
Which is understandable, because the frenzy that the men returned to seemed reasonably hellish:
‘Budgie Nine’ James Paver has landed in Canberra. https://t.co/HXrHysDgRz #BudgieNine #7News https://t.co/TiFHoLIXtI
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 7, 2016
It appears the men gave a statement after landing, asking for privacy during this time.
The general reaction has been similar to this:
#BudgieNine spokesman: “Please be respectful of our families’ privacies at this time.”
Earth to #budgy9: you dropped your dacks in Malaysia
— Dan Conifer (@DanConifer) October 7, 2016
Source: Twitter / @7News.
Photo: Brendan Thorne / Getty.
