WATCH: Video of dancers twerking at Australian Military event creates controversy

A video clip of dancers twerking at an Australian military event has gone viral causing a stir in the country. A group of women performed at the commissioning ceremony of the HMAS Supply a new $2 billion navy ship, in Sydney on April 10.

The viral video has resulted in a huge backlash at the Royal Australian Navy, with many calling it “inappropriate”. In the video, seven women dancers dressed in red tops and black shorts can be seen twerking and and dancing in front of the HMAS Supply vessel. 

According to a BBC report, conservative lawmakers resonated with those calling the event unprofessional while the tabloids in Australia slammed the military standards. 

NEW: The Royal Australian Navy commissioned HMAS Supply in Sydney today, and uh..... organised this dance to celebrate pic.twitter.com/OvCYlhhGZG

— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) April 10, 2021

Philip Thompson, the MP representing Herbert in Queensland, was quoted by ABC as saying the Australian Defence Force had moved "too far to the left" in its social agenda in recent years and also questioned the presence of the dancers at the event.

"Standards in the ADF, and definitely when commissioning a ship, should be a little bit higher than that,” he said.

After facing severe criticism, the dance group - 101 Doll Squadron- has released a statement saying that they felt “unsafe” and “exploited” and blamed ABC for editing the video in a “deceptive” manner, reputed The Guardian. The clip appears to show dignitaries present at the event during their performance. 

“We are very disappointed at the ABC’s deceptive editing of their video piece which cut to guests and dignitaries who were not in attendance, and shot from angles which could not be seen by the audience. We found this very creepy,” they said.

ABC also invited criticism from Prime Minister Scott Morrison who said he was “disappoined” by ABC's reportage of the event. 

“I am disappointed that this event was so misreported. I think that was disrespectful to the performers to suggest the governor general or others were in attendance in that way,” PM Morrison said.

“It is disappointing that Australians were so misled on that issue,” he added.

Meanwhile, ABC has issued an apology for the way they edited the video. They claimed that reporters were told by a government MP that both the governor general and the chief of navy were present for the dance.

“The video should not have been edited in that way and the ABC apologises to the Governor-General and the Chief of Navy, and to viewers, for this error,” the statement said.