Yesterday, Australian Greens Party Senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged the Australian Football League (AFL) to "Dump Snoop Dogg and put in place an Aussie artist," referring to his headlining spot for the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the 2025 Toyota AFL Grand Final.
Her calls come after the rapper appeared on the It's Giving podcast and made questionable remarks about same sex couples in movies.
On the August 20, 2025 episode of the podcast, Snoop and host Sarah Fontenot spoke about the Toy Story spin-off Lightyear. In the movie, a lesbian couple and their daughter are briefly shown on screen. After that scene, Snoop's grandson asked him: “Papa Snoop, how she have a baby with a woman? She’s a woman.”
Speaking about the interaction, Snoop said:
Aw s**t, I didn’t come here for this s**t, I just came here to watch the goddamn movie. So that’s like f**k me, I’m scared to go to the movies now, y’all throwing me in the middle of this s**t that I don’t have an answer for … it threw me for a loop.
He added: “These are kids … do we have to show that at that age? They’re going to ask questions. I don’t have the answer.”
This led to Senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticizing the AFL's decision to book the rapper. Last month, Snoop was revealed as the headlining performer for the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the 2025 Toyota AFL Grand Final, set to take place on September 27, 2025, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The venue can hold more than 90,000 people.
Referring to him as a "slur merchant," Hanson-Young questioned why the AFL was bringing in an international artist to perform instead of Australian talent. She also mentioned that AFL Adelaide Crows player Izak Rankine was recently suspended for using homophobic slurs. "The irony is not lost on many of us that while Izak Rankine gets dumped, Snoop Dogg gets $2 million to play his misogynistic, homophobic music on our turf," she said.
She went on to stress that she wanted support for Australian talents and that the AFL Grand Final should be headlined by an Australian artist. Notably, the AFL has featured other international performers for the Grand Final, like Katy Perry and Robbie Williams.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon issued a statement following the discourse in which he defended Snoop Dogg's slot:
We cannot vouch for every lyric in every song ever written or performed by any artist who has appeared on our stage — Australian or international. What I can say is that our pre-match entertainment on AFL Grand Final day will be family-friendly and consistent with the audience at the MCG and those watching the broadcast.
It is also important to remember that we engaged Snoop Dogg in 2025 as the person he is today.
He has spoken publicly about his past, he has changed, and today he is a grandfather, philanthropist, he helps rehabilitate youth and is a global entertainer who has performed at both the Super Bowl and the Olympic Closing Ceremony to audiences of more than 100 million people.
In those environments his performance was appropriate and well-received, and his performance this year at our Grand Final will be fitting for the best sporting event in the country.
What do you think?
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