Rob Thomas apologises for racist joke in Australia

Rob Thomas has issued an apology after making an insensitive remark about Aboriginal Australians while on tour in the country.
The former Matchbox 20 frontman was performing at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Friday (19Feb16) when he began making conversation with the crowd during a technical hold-up in his show.
In video footage obtained by TMZ.com, Rob begins to joke about how he copes with jet lag, telling the audience: “I’ve been doing it for so long, I’ve got the jet lag figured out.
“What you do is, when you get on the plane on your way here, you start drinking. And then I drink until I think I’m Australian. And I keep drinking until I think I’m a black Australian.”
The audience, who had previously been cheering, then swaps their applause for booing and groaning at Rob’s remark, but the singer seems unaware of the offence he caused, and carries on with the show.
Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest killers of Aboriginal Australians, and huge efforts have been made across the country to tackle the problem. The death rate for Aborigines between the ages of 35 and 54 was between six and eight times higher than that of the wider population in Australia, a report found last year (15).
After being informed of his insensitivity surrounding the remarks, Rob penned an apology on Facebook.com on Saturday (20Feb16), telling fans he “feels like a fool”.
“After the show in Melbourne tonight while backstage with some of my Australian friends, it was brought to my attention that I said something that is racist and insensitive,” he wrote. “Please understand that although it is no excuse, I was completely unaware that in Australia there is a polarising social issue happening right now involving indigenous people and alcohol.
“When I was made aware of it, the ground fell out beneath me, and I realised that people may now see me as the exact opposite of who I am.
“I’m sitting here in my hotel room completely gutted that a joke that I made was much more relevant to the times in Australia than I realised. I feel like a fool and apologise to all Australians.”