Life

"Egg Boy" Just Did Something Huge With The £55K From His Fundraising Page

by Aoife Hanna

It's easy to think that the political world is a bit of a pantomime because, at times, it is. In the UK, milkshaking is the phenomenon of the moment, and in Australia, an egging incident that took place in March went instantly viral and is still capturing the world's attention. The incident earned teenager Will Connolly the name 'Egg Boy' and a Go Fund Me page set up in his honour, which raised more than £50,000. However, Egg Boy has donated the money to Christchurch survivors after stating it "wasn't [his] to keep."

As Bloomberg reports, on March 16 2019, Connolly egged Senator Fraser Anning during a rally in Melbourne. "Beforehand, Anning released a statement calling Islam 'the religious equivalent of fascism,'" Bloomberg writes. In addition, in the wake of the tragedy in Christchurch, which resulted in 51 fatalities, the senator had tweeted asking if anyone "still" disputed the link between Muslim immigration and violence, among other incendiary, disgusting comments. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called his remarks "a disgrace."

In response to the egging, Anning punched Connolly in the face. Twice. However, neither faced charges, as the Independent reports.

After the incident, Connolly became a viral sensation, and a fundraiser page was set up in order to show support to him and to cover any potential legal bills he may have incurred after the incident. The page reads:

Our hero EggBoi takes on Fraser Anning, the senator for Queensland that is now despised around the world for comments made after the shooting at a New Zealand mosque. Money raised will go to EggBoi for: Legal fees, More eggs.

Once set up, the fund rose to an amazing $99,922.36 (around £55,000).

However, Connolly's legal firm, Gordon Legal, provided him representation pro bono, meaning the money was not needed for this purpose. So Connolly decided to give it to the right cause.

Connolly dropped the news on his Instagram page, which has now amassed a 567,000 followers. He wrote:

"I decided to donate all monies to help provide some relief to the victims of the massacre... it wasn’t mine to keep."

Speaking after the egging, Connolly expressed some remorse about his actions but said that the egg made ripples that have been felt across the globe. Speaking to Australia's Ten Network he said:

"I understand what I did was not the right thing to do. However, this egg has united people."

More than 1.4 million people chose to sign a petition demanding Mr Anning's resignation in the days following his comments, the BBC reports. However, not only did he not resign but he also repeatedly defended his remarks. When condemned for what he said, Anning responded by saying it was "an attack on free speech."

Luckily though, Anning didn't manage to score another term in the Senate during Australia's general election on May 18.

So what's next for Egg Boy? He hasn't said much about what he'll do next but he rounded off his Instagram caption with "Keep spreading the love."