Stephen Colbert has been called 'racist' after using a didgeridoo during sketch about Australia
Rachel Lang
Featured Image Credit: CBS
Stephen Colbert has found himself in hot water after he played a didgeridoo on the set of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The minute-long bit was shared on Twitter, in which Colbert discussed Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, Crikey News, and then ended on the didgeridoo.
"Lachlan is suing an Australian website for implying that he was a conspirator for the January 6 insurrection," the comedian said.
"The actual name of that website: Crikey News. Now if Crikey loses, it’ll be good for its main competitor 'Didgerinews'."
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Colbert then pretended to be an Australian news presenter, slipping in to a rather good accent, mimicking how people speak Down Under.
He quipped: "Tonight's top story? All that, and deadly spiders in your shower."
Then, flicking back to his usual American accent, he added: "Also, we don’t broadcast down there, do we? Ah, it’s all in good fun."
That's the thing about the internet though, it erases broadcasting network limits and borders.
Anyway, aside from a few issues with his bit - the spiders that wind up in your shower tend to be harmless, and Lachlan isn't pronounced as 'Lack-lan' - Aussies were up in arms over the inclusion of the didgeridoo.
One person on Twitter said: "God damn, there are cultural rules around whom can and can’t play a didge."
A second added: "Oh great, Colbert - Can you be more racist?"
While a third piped up with: "Probably don’t do didgeridoo jokes, hey."
Another tagged the TV show on their social media post, tweeting: "Hey @colbertlateshow - this ain't it."
For the record, the didgeridoo is an instrument considered sacred by First Nations people in Australia.
It is generally accepted that any non-Indigenous person should consult a First Nations person to obtain permission and guidance before playing the instrument.
We reached out to ask him if he sought the proper permission and UNILAD is yet to receive comment back from Colbert or his team.
A quick Google search immediately turns up a Queensland Museum fact sheet that explains that 'it is important to be aware and respectful of their cultural background and restrictions'.
And, yep, this is definitely not that.
This isn't the first time that the didgeridoo has sat at the center of a cultural appropriation furore.
In 2020, YouTuber and fitness influencer Sarah Stevenson - who goes by the name Sarah’s Day online - made headlines after she gave the sacred instrument as a gift to her partner, Kurt Tilse, for Father’s Day.
Blak Business, an Indigenous-run resource service that aims to educate people on Aboriginal culture, lashed out at the Sarah's Day fitness star to point out the seller she purchased the instrument wasn’t an Indigenous business.
So, yeah.
Let's just leave the sacred instrument alone, shall we?