14 DAY TRIAL // “Hey Hey It’s Saturday,” a long-running Australian variety show, is under serious fire after it featured a comic group doing a skit in blackface, as a parody of the Jackson Five. The men in disguise, as well as the network, have apologized for the offending skit, but it has barely managed to put a damper on the controversy that continues to rage on, the Daily Mail informs.
The skit was inspired by the Jackson Five and featured five men in blackface doing choreography and backing vocals for another man in a white mask of makeup. The number, it seems, even if it dates back to 20 years ago, when it was performed for the first time on “Hey Hey” by the same men, has managed to infuriate many, despite insistences that doing blackface was not considered an insult in Australia and that the parody had nothing to do with racial issues.
Harry Connick Jr. was featured as a guest judge on the show and he, for one, was visibly shocked by the skit, giving it a zero score and saying that it would have led to the entire show being canceled, had it been aired on American television. “I just want to say, on behalf of my country, I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.” Connick said.
“Blackface is a traditional troupe of minstrel show, emulated in the UK for many years by the Black And White Minstrels, that dates back to 19th century America. White people playing black characters – usually offensive stereotypes meant to demean people – rubbed coal, grease or shoe polish on their faces. The performances are not common in Australia.” the Daily Mail writes by means of an explanation why viewers in Australia were not offended by the skit. On the contrary, actually, many found it downright hilarious and saw nothing wrong with it.
Darly Somers, who hosts “Hey Hey,” apologized for the skit immediately after it was performed, saying he knew a blackface routine was considered offensive in the US. Below is the entire skit, watch and judge for yourselves.