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Waleed Aly has amusingly hit out at a divisive ‘white’ Aussie trend which has sparked outrage from tourists.
Channel Ten’s The Project dedicated a segment on Thursday night where panellists debated the ‘baffling’ and ‘feral’ habit which has gone viral online for all the wrong reasons.
The discussion was sparked by international tourists posting videos to TikTok questioning why Aussie walked around barefoot when going out to restaurants, supermarkets and bars.
Even Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth is regularly spotted hitting the streets of Byron Bay without shoes.
Aly sided with tourists over the odious habit, admitting that even he was baffled why as to Aussies opted for bare feet when they went out.
‘Every now and then, I learn something about Australia that reminds me how white I’m not,’ he said.
Project host Waleed Aly (pictured) hit out at ‘white’ Aussies who walk around barefoot
‘The shoes off…it seems to me that white Australians wear bare feet in the streets and then shoes in the house.’
Comedian and co-host Kate Langbroek quickly interjected: ‘Can I also point out that black Australians didn’t wear shoes!’
‘But it’s a very different scenario,’ Aly responded.
‘Yeah, but it is a thing,’ Langbroek said.
Aly argued that it was ‘a completely different thing’.
Comedian and co-host Nick Cody joked that it should be socially acceptable for people near the beach.
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‘I think no shoes now, you’ve got to be able to see the beach,’ he said.
‘If you can see ocean, you’re good to go.’
Foreigners visiting Australia have been left puzzled by the habit.
Many have posted video to social media asking why Aussies prefer to not wear shoes, some of these clips have gone viral and been inundated with explanations.
The segment was sparked by a series of TikTok videos posted by tourists questioning why Aussies didn’t wear shoes
British expat Robyn Turner, who lives in Melbourne, said it caught her ‘off guard’ and surprised her in a video she uploaded back in January.
‘This shocked me. You would never catch anyone that wasn’t on a beach in bare feet in the UK,’ she said.
Another British expat, radio host Jordana Grace, described the habit as ‘gross and feral’ in a clip.
Italian tourist Sofia Saccone listed it as one thing that shocked her in Australia in a video she posted in August.
‘Everyone really enjoys going out without their shoes,’ she said.
‘You don’t know why, I don’t know why – they just do that.
‘They want to go do some grocery [shopping], you’re going to find a lot of people without their shoes. On the bus, without shoes,’ Ms Saccone recalled.
‘And they’re not crazy person – they are just like regular person like me.’
The panellists discussed the habit, with Aly (pictured left with co-host Sarah Harris) left baffled while comedian Nick Cody joked that it should be acceptable if you’re ‘able to see the beach’
