Rob Thomas Apologizes After Making Racist Joke In Australia

Rob Thomas' attempt at humor during a concert in Australia did not go over well as the 44years old rock singer and Matchbox Twenty frontman made a racist joke unintentionally while performing at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Saturday.

At the show, Thomas told the crowd he had figured out how to combat the jet lag that accompanies a flight from the United States. This was what he said exactly “When you get on the plane on your way here, you start drinking and then I drink till I think I'm Australian. And then I keep drinking till I think I'm a black Australian. Don't be racist. And then I drink until I think I'm a pretty little girl. And then my wife starts to get worried about me and I stop drinking for a minute”. He later apologized for his remark and said he cried when he found out the meaning of what he had said

Thomas said on Facebook Sunday he :did not intend to make a joke about race. I have seen people comment that after coming here for so long I should know that there is a connection between the indigenous peoples of Australia and a stereotype involving drinking, embarrassingly, I truly didn't. The joke I made was meant to be at no one's expense but my own, I made a comment about drinking so much on the long flight over that I started to think I was something I'm not...I'm not Australian. I'm not black and I'm not a little girl. Again, if I had any idea of the stereotype I would have chosen another example. There was absolutely no malice even in jest”.

Thomas said he was so ignorant to the situation that when he heard people groan, he actually thought they were being racist adding that “I didn't know until today that just the phrase black Australian was racist all on it's own. I sat in my room and I cried when I found out. I am truly sorry for how this came across, most of all to the indigenous people here. Australia has been so good to me for so long that I'm embarrassed I don't know more about the history and the culture. While I'm here I'm going to use this opportunity to rectify that. I promise you this!