Whitewashing Blackface Redux: Kevin Fraser
by Roger Young
Let's just call it what it is: Kevin Fraser performs blackface with his character Gladys, has been doing so for a long while – which is what this “best” of tour is all about. You would think, since Schuster's films were pulled from Showmax in 2020 amid a review of racially insensitive material, that Fraser would read the room. In his defence, that's hard to do from Australia.
In a reel dropped today on his socials the standup influencer, promoting his South African tour, you know the South Africa he loves so much that he moved to Australia, brings out his old favourite Gladys for a paid spot for Amazon.
Gladys is Kevin performing his domestic worker for lols. He doesn't go full Schuster and put on the old boot polish, but he does do the funny black accent thing, so hilarious. See how backward my domestic workers have been, so lolzies.
Kevin sits on his couch expressing anxiety that the delivery driver is stopping somewhere. Traffic amirite? Lolz. The package arrives and Gladys, in her pink uniform and feather duster – cleaning up, LOLZ, peeks around the door. Kev opens his package. The doorbell rings again, who could it be? Gladys doesn't hear it because she's comically working with headphones on. Ah the worker takes joy in her work, how funny. But wait it's not just that she is enjoying it, she is waggling her bum, you know, like “the blacks” do it? Lolz. Kev really understands “the blacks”, he speaks Zulu you know.
Kevin brings Gladys her packages, so many packages, what could she possibly have ordered, such conspicuous consumption! Oh lol those funny domestics, all Kev ordered was a wagyu beef wrapped in lettuce, probably.
Gladys says, Amazon has something for everyone, Kevin. She means that Amazon has lawyers for everyone, from consumers in Australia being charged extra to escape ads they didn't sign up for, to the indigenous fighting for their land in Cape Town, to suppliers being locked into contracts so they cannot sell their products elsewhere, yay Amazon!
And then Kev asks the question, the real question, How are you going to get all of this home? Silly Gladys, SHE DIDN'T PLAN HER TRANSPORT! LOLZ! These domestic workers, so unable to manage their resources, what would they do without us? Kev then gives her a ride home, but she takes sooooooo long to do up her seat belt! Kev's time is IMPORTANT there is WAGYU TO EAT!
If only Gladys had all of this stuff delivered to her own home, does Amazon even deliver to wherever the fuck she lives? How irresponsible of Gladys, but you know, Yoh! Then Gladys says, Asembeni and the reel helpfully provides a subtitle to tell us what she means. KEVIN AS GLADYS SPEAKING IN ZULU, LOOK HOW NOT RACIST KEVIN IS, you at home might not understand.
Ever since the good old days of Pip Freedman, white South African men have used funny accents to make light of the habits and nuances of other cultures and peoples in South Africa, crossdressing always a bonus. It happens worldwide, but South Africa has a very rich tradition of it: Freedman, Uys, Schuster, Die Antwoord, the Cape Town Fish Market, Outsurance, Kevin “Amazon” Fraser. When comedians such as Noah, Taylor, Lottering, or Naraghi do it, they either work on an equal power dynamic, or they expose the power relationship, the absurdity of the dynamic. When Fraser does it, he entrenches stereotypes, entrenches power.
Schuster used to claim he was an equal opportunity offender, he mocked everyone regardless of how they felt about it, or whether they were able to answer back. Gladys is Mama Jack without the boot polish. A consumer-friendly racism performed to shill products for a company that rides roughshod over indigenous rights. Lolz.
It's only funny if you find “the blacks” to be funny as a concept.
Observational comedy generally works when it reflects the comedian's current experiences. Fraser would have such rich material if he was to examine how people who flee to Australia (or gated communities) perpetually misread what is going on back in South Africa. Because that's already funny.
Note: The wagyu bit is an assumption, because assumptions... lolz.