Jill Meagher’s widower joins chorus to ban Charlie Sheen from Australia
Charlie Sheen pleaded guilty in 2010 to assaulting his then-wife, Brooke Mueller. Photo: Getty
The widower of murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher has thrown his support behind a campaign to have US actor Charlie Sheen’s visa revoked due to his domestic violence convictions.
Sheen – who pleaded guilty in August 2010 to assaulting his then-wife Brooke Mueller – has arrived in Australia ahead of speaking engagements in Melbourne and Sydney this weekend.
Tom Meagher is the widower of Jill Meagher, who was raped and murdered by Adrian Ernest Bayley as she walked to her home in Brunswick, in Melbourne’s north, in September 2012.
In a tweet, Mr Meagher asked Immigration Minister David Coleman why “it’s appropriate to grant a visa to this violent criminal at a time when men are murdering women in Australia at epidemic rates and thousands more are terrorised everyday by men like him?”
https://twitter.com/meagtom/status/1057760940723068929
The tweet came in response to one from activist group Collective Shout, which is campaigning for Sheen’s visa to be revoked.
Collective Shout said it approached Mr Meagher for support.
https://twitter.com/CollectiveShout/status/1057773084562714629
Another tweet from the group attributed a longer quote to Mr Meagher.
“If … we believe it is appropriate to welcome a serial violent offender like Sheen to an arena where he is applauded, celebrated and speaks unchallenged, it is difficult to believe that this is a country that takes the job of ending its epidemic of male violence against women seriously,” the tweet said.
Sheen has starred in films such as Platoon, Wall Street and the Hot Shots films, and more recently the television series Two and a Half Men.
A promotional website for his Australian performances described the events as a, “truly unique opportunity to get up close and personal with Hollywood Royalty”.
A spokesperson for Mr Coleman said the Immigration Minister would not comment on individual cases.
“All non-citizens entering Australia must meet the character requirements set out in the Migration Act 1958, prior to the grant of any visa,” a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said.
“Further information on the character requirement is available on the department’s website.”
Mr Meagher also declined to comment further.
