Aussie celebs divided over Australia Day as Abbie Chatfield 'pays' for her Aboriginal friend's food for the day while Karl Stefanovic and others say there is nothing wrong with celebrating

Australian celebrities were left divided over Australia Day on Monday. 

While millions celebrate the day, the national holiday has become a hot topic, as debate rages over the date.

January 26 is the day when the First Fleet landed in Sydney Cove and raised the Union Flag, marking Britain's claim to the country.

The day also marks the beginning of violence and dispossession against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

As Abbie Chatfield and Brooke Blurton stood with the First Nations to mark 'Invasion Day', the likes of Karl Stefanovic proudly flaunted their patriotism and said there was nothing wrong with celebrating the day. 

Other notable Aussies followed suit, with TV stars and sporting legends alike taking staunch positions on whether or not the holiday is a day for celebration.

Abbie, 30, posted a satirical video to Instagram which showed her buying an ice cream and some stickers for her Aboriginal best friend.

'Paying for everything for my best friend on Invasion Day every year because he's Aboriginal and I'm descended from convicts,' she captioned the clip. 

The former Bachelor star went on to tell her followers the video was just a joke, adding that buying ice cream for her friend was nowhere near enough reparations to make up for the colonisation of the First Nations. 

'It's my ancestors shout I guess! A sprinkle ice cream definitely doesn't makeup for much, but it's something!' she said. 

'For anyone confused... This is satire! Ahhahahahah this is not anywhere near reparations and that's the joke, that it's just an ice cream and some stickers.'

She then promoted a First Nations charity initiative, Pay The Rent, which is made up of the Sovereign Body of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people and the Administrative Arm of Allies.

Meanwhile, Brooke, 31, also a former Bachelor franchise star, attended an Invasion Day Rally in Melbourne to show her support on Monday. 

The youth worker was seen front and centre in front of the Parliament House wearing a T-shirt by Clothing The Gaps which read, 'Not The Date To Celebrate.'

Clothing The Gaps is an Aboriginal business which aims to have the date of Australia Day moved from January 26. 

Brooke was seen wiping away tears after a minute of silence was held, before she applauded the speeches given at the protest. 

Also in attendance was 2024 MasterChef winner Nathale Thaipun, who wore a hat emblazoned with three hearts in the colours of the Aboriginal flag. 

Elsewhere, Narelda Jacobs attended a local First Nations market with her partner Karina Natt and their child, daughter Sanna, who they welcomed in March. 

The Ten star, 50, also shared a video to Instagram last week which showed her speaking about Australia Day on Studio 10 six years ago.

In the throwback clip, she said: 'Celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is offensive to a whole group of people. It's almost like dancing on someone's grave.

'Australia Day is not a time to celebrate incarceration. It's not a time to celebrate invasion. It's to celebrate Australia as an inclusive nation and that's why we need to change the date.' 

She went on to suggest the date be changed to the 'third Monday' or the 'second last Monday' of every January. 

On the other side of the argument, Today host Karl took a stance against critics of Australia Day, saying there is nothing wrong with celebrating the occasion.

He and wife Jasmine, along with their daughter Harper, proudly held up an Australian flag as they took a relaxing boat ride along Sydney Harbour.

The trio were all smiles in photos shared to Instagram, with Karl later telling news.com.au Australia is a 'f***ing great country' before slamming 'woke' culture. 

Lisa Curry and her husband Mark Andrew Tabone also proudly celebrated Australia Day during their recent trip to Canada.

The former competitive swimmer, 63, shared images of the pair wearing bucket hats - one with the Australian flag and one with the Canadian flag.

'Today is the 26th here in Canada so Happy Australia Day in Oz,' Mark wrote alongside the post. 

'Celebrate what is great for you every day! After travelling to so many different countries, Australia is definitely the best place to live!' 

Hayley Vernon, a former Married At First Sight star, shared a blunt message to her Instagram Stories.

'It's Australia Day,' she penned next to an Australian flag. 

Elsewhere, model Laura Csortan also shared a telling video to her Instagram, showing a clip of a car driving along the beach with an Australian flag.

'If this flag offends you, we welcome you to leave this beautiful country,' the caption read.