Channel Nine star Sonia Kruger has responded to critics after she controversially suggested that Muslims should be banned from immigrating to Australia.
The Today Show host became embroiled in the debate after discussing a controversial opinion piece by newspaper columnist Andrew Bolt, in which he moots barring Muslim immigrants from entering Australia following the Nice terror attack.
Kruger said she was terrified by recent acts of violence, and suggested that immigration controls could be a solution.
While claiming she has a ‘lot of very good friends’ who are peace-loving Muslims, she added ‘there are fanatics’.
“I would like to see it stop now for Australia,” Sonia said of Muslim immigration, “because I want to feel safe as all of our citizens do when we go out to celebrate Australia Day”.
Her TV co-host David Campbell disagreed, saying that freedom of religion was just as important as freedom of speech. Speaking on Bolt’s article, he added: “This breeds hate. This sort of article breeds hate.”
Twitter users quickly reacted to Sonia’s comments, with some labelling them ‘disgusting’ and ‘racist’.
This afternoon, Kruger herself took to social media to defend her comments.
