Bachelor star Heather Maltman reveals she is Aboriginal after ‘being silent about her heritage for years’ – as she throws her support behind Black Lives Matter protesters
Former Bachelor star Heather Maltman revealed her Indigenous heritage on Wednesday in a lengthy Instagram post about the Black Lives Matter protesters.
The 35-year-old actress and director, who has light skin and has not previously disclosed her racial background, proudly wore an Aboriginal flag singlet as she marked Mabo Day and threw her support behind anti-racism demonstrators.
In her emotional post, Heather admitted she had always been ‘silent’ about her ancestry because the pain of the past ‘f**king hurts’.
‘For years I’ve been silent about my heritage’: Bachelor star Heather Maltman revealed on Wednesday that she’s Aboriginal as she threw her support behind Black Lives Matter protesters
‘For all my mob up here in Queensland. Mabo Day! Love you,’ Heather began.
‘For years I have been silent about my heritage. And after the awful situations going on. All I’ve learned is we can do more.’
Heather described Australia as an unequal society and claimed she had recently quit her job because of a racist male supervisor.
Moving: The 35-year-old penned a moving and emotional Instagram post and admitted that she’s always been ‘silent’ about her ancestry because the pain of the past ‘f**king hurts’
She claimed the man had told her to ‘stop whinging and running [sic] Australia Day with my “political c**p”‘.
Heather added: ‘My skin [might] look white. But my family has a black history that was white washed like a f**king bad dream.
‘And I don’t talk about it cause it f**king hurts. To all my sisters and brothers watching their bags still get over turned at the train station just for not having the right skin colour. Know this: I’m with you. Always. And so are many others.
‘It’s our job to say something when we can.’
As defined by Reconciliation Australia, Mabo Day ‘is marked annually on 3 June, commemorating Mer Island man Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius or “land belonging to no-one”‘.
Speaking out: Heather went on to say that she doesn’t think there is equality in Australia and said she recently quit her job when she worked with a ‘racist man’
Heather’s post comes amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
She also joined hundreds of celebrities who posted black squares to Instagram as part of the viral campaign Blackout Tuesday, a collective action to protest racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in the U.S.
Black Lives Matter protests have erupted in the U.S. and around the world this week in response to the death of unarmed black man, George Floyd.
Floyd, 46, died last Monday after he was arrested by four Minneapolis police officers for allegedly using a fake $20 bill.
Support: Heather’s post comes amid the Black Lives Matter movement. She also joined hundreds of celebrities who posted black squares to Instagram as part of the viral campaign Blackout Tuesday
He was brought to the ground and white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes.
Floyd, who was unarmed and handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe and later died in custody.
The horrific assault was caught on video and sent shockwaves across the world.
Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
He, along with the three other officers who arrested Floyd, have been fired from the force following outrage over the African American’s death.
Over the past week, hundreds of protests have unfolded in at least 75 cities across the United States in an unprecedented display of civil unrest.
At least 40 cities have imposed curfews in response to the riots and violence.
Protests: Black Lives Matter protests have erupted in the U.S. and around the world this week in response to the death of unarmed black man, George Floyd. Floyd, 46, died last Monday after he was arrested by four Minneapolis police officers for allegedly using a fake $20 bill