The Jackson Jive
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The Jackson Jive was a controversial comedy sketch performed on a special reunion episode of the Australian television program Hey Hey It's Saturday on 7 October 2009. The sketch, in which six participants in blackface performed a song by the Jackson Five, attracted international media attention, with both condemnation and defence. American musician Harry Connick Jr. appeared on the program as a guest judge and panned the skit; he and his band performed later on in the show.
The sketch
Hey, Hey, It's Saturday!, broadcast on the Nine Network, featured a popular and long-running segment called Red Faces, a talent show.[1] Performers Suresh de Silva, Joseph Macdessi, Harry Koumoukelis, Mark Sader, and David Jefferson dressed up as the Jackson Five in matching blackface outfits and wearing large afro wigs. They also made their teeth out to be extremely white.[2] Anand Deva performed as an adult Michael Jackson, painting his face white.[3] They sang the Jackson Five's hit 'Can You Feel It' in a jive style.[4]
The performers are all from Sydney, and they work there as physicians.[1] Times Online has described Deva as a "prominent Sydney-based plastic surgeon". The others included a radiologist, an anaesthetist, a psychiatrist, a cardiologist and a urologist. The group had performed a similar sketch on Hey Hey It's Saturday in 1989, when they were all medical students. [5]
Reactions on the program
Guest judge Harry Connick Jr., an American musician who originated from New Orleans and whose band contains several African-American members,[3] gave the performers a '0' score.[6] He appeared visibly uncomfortable throughout the skit.[1] He said, "If they turned up like that in the United States, it’d be like Hey Hey There's No More Show."[4] He also stated that he would not have agreed to be on the show had he known beforehand about the sketch.[6]
Connick's Australian co-judge, seated to his right, awarded the performers a '7' score.[7] This judge, Jacki MacDonald, had originally intended to not participate in the show, but decided to after seeing the success of the first reunion episode. Her showing here was her first appearance on television with host Daryl Somers in 21 years.[1] In grading the 'Jackson Jive', she remarked that "I thought you were very cute".[7] Regular judge Red Symons, famous for giving low scores, awarded them a score of '1.'
Daryl Somers stated that nobody had intended to deliberately offend the viewers, the guests, or the audience. He described the sketch as a "bit retro".[3] Somers apologised to Connick on air after a brief station break, and he said that he had forgotten that blackface has a different cultural background in the United States compared to Australia.[7] Somers had been genuinely surprised by Connick's reaction.[8]
Other responses
The controversial sketch happened at a point in which many Australians had expressed concern about an underground wave of racism in Australian society.[2][3] Overall, Australians responded far more positively than residents of other English-speaking nations.[2] Internet surveys done through News Limited-related agencies and Twitter stated that many Australians considered the sketch to be a funny and inoffensive tribute to Michael Jackson's memory. Some Australian political commentators remarked that only political correctness had been upset. In the United States, however, many internet based commentators reacted very negatively.[3] Many internet commentators also panned the sketch in the United Kingdom.[8]
Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, defended the skit. She has said, "It was just a bit of fun... a tribute to Michael Jackson and I think from an Australian audience point of view, they see the lightness of it." Acting Victoria Premier Rob Hulls labelled the skit as offensive. He also stated that Australia is not a racist country.[8] Australian feminist Germaine Greer condemned the sketch as a “piece of shit.”[2]
Australian television personality Sam Newman, who has used blackface in his acts before, has stated sarcastically that the sketch would "arouse moralists". He argued that it is not truly offensive. Kamahl, an Australian entertainer who was mentioned in the sketch since he is of Malaysian ethnic heritage, referred to it as "a desperate attempt at notoriety and publicity". He has also said, "Hey Hey is devoid of any real wit. It's desperate. It's toilet humour and it should be flushed."[8]
Reaction by the performers
Suresh de Silva has publicly responded to the criticisms. He stated that "The worst consequence of what we did is that the skit has raised the question of are Australians racist. We're genuinely horrified that our mistake could cause people to think that... Australians care more about ability than race." He also identified himself as having Sri Lankan ancestry and the other performers as an Indian-Australian, a Greek-Australian, an Irish-Italian-Australian, and a Lebanese-Australian.[3]
Silva has said that his group would not have performed the sketch in the U.S. He commented as well, "I suspect things are probably a bit different in America in terms of what that [black face] means".[5]
Reaction by Jackson Five members
Marlon, Tito, and Jackie Jackson felt shocked after they were informed about the skit. Marlon Jackson thanked Connick for speaking out. He stated that the performers probably had not intended to be offensive and remarked, “Man, if they turned up looking like that in the United States!"[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Evelyne Yamine; Gareth Trickey; Chris Scott (October 8, 2009). "Hey Hey sees red over black face Jackson 5 act". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Mascarenhas, Alan (October 21, 2009). "We're not racist, we're Aussies". The Global Post. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f Caroline Overington (October 9, 2009). "Hey Hey It's Saturday blackface skit makes some red faces". The Australian. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) [dead link] - ^ a b Brown, Lane (October 7, 2009). "Harry Connick Jr. No Fan of Australian Blackface Michael Jackson Tribute". New York. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Tedmanson, Sophie (October 9, 2009). "Australian TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday in racism row over 'blackface' skit". Times Online. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Jackson Brothers Respond To Australia's 'Jackson Jive' Blackface Controversy". Access Hollywood. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ a b c Marina Hyde (7 October 2009). "Harry Connick Jr weirdly unimpressed by Australia's blackface Jackson 5". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Siobhan Duck; Xanthe Kleinig (October 9, 2009). "Julia Gillard defends Hey Hey blackface skit". The Courier Mail. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
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