A comedian has been criticised after she sniffed petrol and staged a smoking ceremony during a skit about a white woman identifying as an Aboriginal person.
Lisa Jane Spencer, a satirist and podcaster based in Melbourne, is known for her sketches, parodies, and commentary on Australian culture.
Her sketches often parody political and cultural debates as well as identity politics.
On Tuesday, she uploaded a new sketch featuring a character called ‘Aunty Lisa’.
‘I started identifying as a black fella a few months ago,’ she said.
Ms Spencer was then shown identifying as Aboriginal on a mock government form, ticking ‘Yes I am’ box next to the question ‘Am I Aboriginal?’.
The video then cut to ‘Aunty Lisa’ wearing white face paint and mimicking singing while clapping two twigs together.
‘I finally feel at peace with who I am. One of the mob,’ she said. ‘Aboriginal identity transcends skin colour. I am Aboriginal, end of story.’
Melbourne woman Lisa Spencer pretends to sniff a container of petrol during her video
The skit ended with Ms Spencer inhaling from a red jerry can.
‘This transition hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth it,’ she captioned the video.
Australians were quick to call out the comedian for the ‘offensive video’.
‘Foul. Good comedians punch up. The lazy ones punch down and call the backlash proof they’re “too edgy”,’ one person said.
‘Shock value is what you reach for when you can’t land a punchline.’
‘Oh dear… the petrol sniffing at the end. Skating close to the boundaries there,’ another agreed.
‘This isn’t comedy or satire it’s a collection of lazy and racist stereotypes dressed up as a joke. Aboriginal people are real people not props,’ a fourth said.
‘And the fact that the ‘joke’ relies entirely on these caricatures says more about your total lack of creativity than it does about the people you are mocking.’
Ms Spencer started off her video with a smoking ceremony
She pretended to dance and sing while clapping sticks together
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However, others disagreed.
‘I didn’t think it was possible to love you any more than I already do and you drop this,’ one person wrote.
‘I’m literally pissing myself laughing out loud,’ another said.
Ms Spencer has made skits impersonating Pauline Hanson, Abbie Chatfield, Donald Trump and a white woman who identified as Indian.
In that video, she claimed to have ‘assimilated’ with Indian culture.
‘I’ve learned the accent and the head bob,’ she said.
‘And I’m patriotic, that ticks most boxes. The only thing that’s different between me and the majority of Indians is how long I’ve been here… and my skin colour.
‘But I don’t see skin colour, and that’s the thing, skin colour is just different kinds of shades and it’s time to stop with the brown fragility.
‘It’s not about skin colour or about shared ancestry. It’s about being a proud Indian. So India, do better, and stop being so racist.’
Ms Spencer transitioned into comedy after ten years as a singer-songwriter and music producer. She has since posted more than 130 parodies.
The Daily Mail contacted Ms Spencer for comment.
