YouTube star FriendlyJordies is savaged for ‘very racist’ impersonation of New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her deputy – but is it REALLY that bad?
- The Youtuber appeared to mock Ms Berejiklian and John Barilaro’s accents
- Mr Barilaro was born to Italian migrant parents who came to Australia in 1968
- Ms Berejiklian learnt English at five after her family migrated from Armenia
- Shanks used an exaggerated Italian accent when impersonating both politicians
- The 29-year-old comedian often posts tongue-in-cheek political commentary
Comedian FriendlyJordies has been slammed for a ‘very racist’ impersonation of New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
The YouTube star, who is known for his tongue-in-cheek political commentary, posted a video on Friday appearing to mock Mr Barilaro and Ms Berejiklian’s accents.
Mr Barilaro was born to Italian parents who came to Australia in 1968, while Ms Berejiklian didn’t learn English until she was five years old after her family migrated from Armenia.
FriendlyJordies, whose real name is Jordan Shanks, used a heavily exaggerated Italian accent when impersonating both politicians before calling the deputy premier a ‘triggered little bi**h’.
The 29-year-old branded Ms Berejiklian a ‘koala killer’ for failing to recognise climate change as a potential explanation for the recent bushfire crisis.
The YouTube star, who is known for his tongue-in-cheek political commentary, posted a video on Friday appearing to mock Mr Barilaro and Ms Berejiklian’s accents
Shanks mimicked Gladys Berejiklian’s comments from a recent interview about climate change and renewable energy, and put on an exaggerated Italian-Australian accent
It comes after drastic cuts in the 2019-2020 budget by the Liberal party for fire and rescue, including a 75 per cent reduction for the Rural Fire Service.
Shanks mimicked Ms Berejiklian’s comments from a recent interview about climate change and renewable energy.
‘People’s livelihoods depend on industries that are perceived to be bad for the climate,’ he said in an overstated accent.
Mr Barilaro took offence to the video on behalf of his colleague.
‘I don’t mind taking the mickey out of myself, but this is actually very offensive. It’s a low attempt at comedy and full of racist undertones,’ Barilaro told The Daily Telegraph.
‘To imitate both myself and the Premier with such obvious distaste for our backgrounds is unacceptable.
‘Our migrant story is actually the Australian success story, one this nation is proud of.’
The video has been viewed more than 204,000 times after being shared to Shanks’ 420,000 loyal YouTube subscribers.
Shanks, who has long been vocal about his disapproval of the Liberal Party, sold t-shirts with a picture of Ms Berejiklian above the hashtag ‘koala killer.’
He previously called the impact of the fires to the environment the ‘greatest catastrophe to have ever faced this nation’s history’.
‘Post that nickname on every update she makes on social media from now until the day that she is faithfully booted out of office and if there is any justice left in the world, thrown in jail.
‘Because if there’s anything that we can positively gleam from living in the age of mass special extinction it’s that we also live in the age of Twitter pile-ons.’
Shanks was previously threatened with legal action for defamation by Clive Palmer, who he branded a ‘nutty turd’ and ‘crackpot’ and made shirts calling him ‘Fatty McF**khead.’
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro, who was born to Italian parents who came to Australia in 1968, took offence to the video