The Prince Philip knighthood backlash is reaching a boiling point after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced his decision Monday to honor the royal.
Abbott addressed the criticism directly, calling the social media squall nothing more than "electronic graffiti."
"I'll leave social media to its own devices,"
he said of the controversy, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. "Social media is kind of like electronic graffiti and I think that in the media, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to social media."
Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce said that, while he believes such an award should go only to Australians, he does not think the decision to knight Prince Philip is worth such an uproar.
"I'm always of the strong belief that all awards should be for Australians," Joyce told
Australian Broadcast Corp. Radio's Kelly Fuller, according to The Australian. "There's been awards in the past for Nelson Mandela and two other people from overseas. My preference is that these awards go to Australians. These things are calls made the Prime Minister on his own volition, and that’s his entitlement, that’s the office he holds."
Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash told reporters that Prince Philip is "extremely deserving" of Australian knighthood, but acknowledged that "backlash will be backlash."
Australians voiced their opinions on social media against knighthood for Prince Philip.
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