All hail eternal shit-stirrer of the street art world, Scottie Marsh, whose latest addition to the walls of Newtown depicts Israel Folau as an embattled, well-to-do beggar lounging against a luxury sports car and misquoting the Bible. Woof.
Captioned “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” and with hashtags including #shortarmsdeeppockets and #whatashitcunt, the artwork takes aim at Folau’s crowdfunding antics after his dismissal from Rugby Australia and the Waratahs.
In case you missed that eye-rolling bit of news, Folau was dropped by his teams for posting (and then refusing to back down from) a statement saying that gay people and other ‘sinners’ are destined for Hell. Rugby Australia argues that Folau was fired not because of his public expression of religious beliefs, but because the post contravened the organisation’s social media protocols. However, Folau has maintained that he’s been unfairly treated for spouting his bigoted views.
So, he did as everybody now bloody does, and started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his upcoming legal battle with Rugby Australia.
If that’s not eyebrow-raising enough, he set his campaign goal at $3 million. Natch.
Marsh is one of the many who’s clearly taken issue with this, as Folau’s reported to have a property portfolio worth more than $7 million, and was on a salary of $1 million a year. The poor bloke.
The mural features Folau in Gucci flip flops, with an EFTPOS machine and a cap full of change, as well as this immortal bit of Biblical text:
The righteous shall taketh from the punters for the divinity of ones property portfolio is most sacred in the eyes of the Lord. Amen!
Also you apparently get a free bottle of water with every donation. Bless him.
GoFundMe has now dropped Folau’s campaign, but we’ll always have the mural and the memories – at least until some outraged member of the Australian Christian Lobby paints over it. Onya once again, Marshy.
