Move comes after Facebook photo emerged of the candidate holding his fist to a wax model of pop star Rihanna

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has sacked an SA Best candidate after a Facebook photo emerged of the man holding his fist to a wax model of pop star Rihanna.

Rhys Adams, Xenophon’s candidate for the Liberal-held seat of Finniss, was dropped after the ABC reported photos from Adams’ Facebook page appeared to show him holding his fist to a model of Rihanna and groping a model of Toni Collette in Sydney in 2015.

Xenophon said: “I acted immediately. You cannot make a joke about domestic violence.” .

In a statement, Adams said the photos showed him “doing stupid things with a juvenile sense of humour”.

“Back then I didn’t take into account those that may be hurt by a what I now reflect on as a very poor-taste joke which certainly doesn’t reflect my mindset or my values,” he said.

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“I am certainly sorry for any offence I’ve cause with previous Facebook posts and I wish the SA Best team the very best going forward.”

Xenophon maintained SA Best’s vetting processes for candidates were sound. “The vetting process is a sound process because people go through extensive questions, police checks, background checks,” he said.

“We already have social media vetting but this was missed. It should not have been missed and the fact it was missed is a very valuable lesson.”

The controversy comes a day after Xenophon announced he would leave federal politics to stand for his local Adelaide seat of Hartley.

His SA Best party will run candidates in other key seats in an attempt to seize the balance of power in state parliament next year.

National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.