Pip Edwards apologises for attending an Australia Day party where Aboriginal flag was upside down

Pip Edwards has issued a grovelling public apology to those she offended by promoting seemingly contradicting messages on Australia Day.  

The activewear mogul, 40, came under fire on Tuesday after she uploaded an anti- Australia Day post condemning national celebrations – just hours before attending an Australia Day party where the Aboriginal flag was flown upside down.    

‘I want to express my sincere apologies to those that I have offended,’ the mother-of-one wrote on Instagram next to a photo of the beach on Wednesday morning. 

‘My intentions were always from a good place, in support of all people, wanting unity and community in this country and globally,’ the business-owner continued.

Pip insisted that she had ‘no idea’ the Aboriginal flag was flown upside down in the photos she’d uploaded from Tuesday’s party.  

‘I innocently did not realise that the Aboriginal flag was upside down and was more focused on the idea of raising both flags together on the one pole, flying as one. I understand it was a huge mistake to not know at the time but my intention was never to cause disrespect,’ she pleaded. 

She also expressed regret for sharing another Australia Day post on Tuesday that read: ‘A day to celebrate the land that we live and thrive on. I love you, Australia.’

Apologising for her choice of wording, Pip acknowledged that she’d ‘made the error of incorrectly using the word ‘celebrate the land’ when it should have read ‘acknowledge”.

‘Again, a big mistake on my part and for that I deeply apologise,’ Pip concluded.   

Pip has also switched off her Instagram comments in the wake of the backlash.  

On Tuesday morning, Pip took to Instagram Stories to share a letter that had been printed in a publication which argued that Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26 – the date when Britain’s First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove.

The post put forward a hypothetical question – if modern Australia were invaded and the locals were then subject to the same mistreatment as Aborigines were in the colonial era ‘would we and our descendants want to ‘celebrate’ the  anniversary of that day’?

‘I think not. So why would we expect First Nations people to feel differently and why would those in positions of power be so insensitive to ignore what this day truly means? What have we got to lose by changing the date of Australia Day?’

The P.E Nation co-founder endorsed the letter’s message by captioning her post: ‘IN BLACK AND WHITE.’ 

The posted photos from the small gathering showed guests enjoying a backyard barbecue including Pip’s boyfriend, retired Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke.

Followers were quick to expose her double standards – condemning Australia Day one moment, and celebrating it the next. 

‘Did you forget about the Story you posted earlier today? Performative activism is gross,’ commented one follower.

Another added: ‘Wowwwwww. Don’t post a little Instagram story in ‘support’ of changing the date and then go and celebrate Australia Day. Educate yourself!’

‘Come on, Pip. Read the room, babe. You literally just posted on your Story that today is not a day to celebrate ‘in black and white’ and then you post this?’ wrote one critic. 

Others branded her posts ’embarrassing’, ‘inappropriate’, ‘completely tone deaf’ and ‘downright insensitive’.

‘How tone deaf can someone be? How many photos of your privileged celebration can you post before you realise that the article that you shared tells us that today is NOT a day to celebrate,’ one follower commented.

Added another: ‘Don’t say one thing on your Stories and another on your feed and pretend it’s okay. They are both features on this platform that are representative of you and that right there is a poor representation. It’s confusing and misleading.’ 

She also shared a video of a man raising both the Australian and Aboriginal flags, but the Aboriginal flag was flown upside down by mistake.

‘UGH. And the flag you put up was upside down…’ commented one person, while another wrote, ‘Also… your Aboriginal flag is upside down on your flagpole.’

The debate over the date of Australia Day has intensified in recent years, with even advocates of the status quo forced into a defensive stance in trying to justify the Jan. 26 date.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke on Tuesday and said the date signified when Australia was changed forever through European colonization.

‘There is no escaping or cancelling this fact,’ Mr Morrison said. ‘For better and worse, it was the moment where the journey to our modern nation began.’