SBS has released a statement after an offensive skit mocking Aboriginal Australians using its Insight logo went viral on social media.
SBS has distanced itself from a viral and deeply offensive Instagram skit mocking Aboriginal Australians, after the ‘comedian’ at the centre of the furore included the Insight logo.
“SBS is aware of these posts and the unauthorised use of SBS logos. The posts and individuals are in no way associated with our content and have been reported,” they said before stating that SBS “condemns all forms of racism”.
“SBS unequivocally condemns all forms of racism and recognises the damaging impact it has on individuals, communities and social cohesion. Such views have no place in Australian society.”
What was the skit?
On Tuesday, Lisa Jane Spencer — who claims to be a comedian — was rightfully dragged online after she shared a skit about “transitioning” into an Aboriginal Australian.
“I’m Aunty Lisa. I started identifying as a blackfella a few months ago,” Spencer said before clips of her dancing barefoot in a yard and hitting sticks together in white face paint played.
At the end of her video, Spencer pretended to sniff a red gasoline canister, portraying a massive stereotype within the Aboriginal Australian community.
The video also featured an SBS Insight logo in the top right corner of the screen.
The internet reacts to Lisa Jane Spencer’s ‘skit’
Shortly after the video was published, folks flocked to the comments, dragging the ‘comedian’ for promoting ignorant, harmful, damaging stereotypes and mocking Aboriginal Australians.
“Honestly, this is putrid,” one person commented.
“Racism isn’t comedy,” another penned.
“This is deeply disturbing and insensitive. Please remove this,” wrote a third.
Noongar woman, advocate and reality TV star Brooke Blurton called out Spencer, expressing that she’s “sick of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being the brunt of the joke”.
“Let’s be clear — it’s not humour. It’s a racist stereotype that First Nations people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, have been facing for generations,” Blurton shared.
“Words matter, and content matters. And when someone with a platform chooses to reiterate and spread racial stereotypes — harmful racial stereotypes, mind you — it actually contributes to the discrimination that First Nations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are already facing every day.”
@ ♬ –
Blurton emphasised that this wasn’t a discussion about sensitivity and comedy, but more so the fact that this kind of content has “real impact” against communities, families and young people.
“I ask you, if you have followed me and you know exactly what video I’m talking about, I ask you to report it,” Blurton continued.
“I don’t want you to engage in it, because that’s what she wants. I actually asked you to report her, and to cancel her. Like, I would never say that out loud, but I think this person clearly knows exactly what they’re doing, and I’ve seen other videos that I don’t agree with.”
Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man Travis Lovett also addressed the matter on his personal Instagram, describing the video as “disgusting”.
“If this does not show why truth-telling is needed in this country, I don’t know what does,” Lovett penned.
“The racism, the dehumanising language, and the willingness to target communities do not appear out of nowhere. They are born from histories left untold. Truths avoided and systems that have never fully reckoned with the harm they have caused.”
Lisa Jane Spencer responds to backlash
Eight hours after posting the skit — which is still live on her page — Spencer released a lengthy statement, confirming that she is apologising “to absolutely nobody”.
“I love Aboriginal people. And I think they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used,” the baffling statement read, before claiming that “petrol sniffing happens” because “AI will tell you”.
“It’s a very real thing in remote Australia,” she continued.
Spencer went on to claim that politicians and activists are using “Aboriginal suffering” for “votes, for funding and for virtue signalling”.
“My joke was first about how easy it is to perform identity for attention and/or benefits. If a man can dress like a woman, play out stereotypes of what women do, and win thousands in a court case, then I can satirise white people claiming Aboriginal heritage benefits. The petrol at the end of my skit was the punchline, just as my Indian videos where I took a squat,” she said.
“And although you’re entitled to feeling offended, you’re also proving my point: you need victimhood. There’s nothing stopping you from taking the joke and laughing.
“And so I apologise to absolutely nobody. Not to the Aboriginals… Indians… and anyone else who I have and will continue to make jokes.
“This is comedy. If you can’t make jokes about certain people and things, then that is a form of privilege and hierarchy, and comedy is about tearing those down. this is what I do, I push boundaries… and that’s never going to change.”
Comedy? Only in the loosest possible sense of the word. But a fool? Definitely.
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