Throughout the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter campaign, Lilley ‘s repeated tweets over the past week were seen as an act of rebellion after Netflix axed four of Lilley ‘s controversial series.
No official statement on the situation has been made by the Australian writer and actor, with his latest uploads of previously unseen Jonah footage becoming his first posts on social media in one month.
In support of Lilley and his posting of the video, People posted that they liked his controversial characters, and his saying shows did not deserve the criticism.
“How do people think this is racist? This is heartwarming,” one YouTube user wrote.
Others argued that Jonah should not have been played by a white person despite Lilley ‘s talent: “Jonah From Tonga was beautifully written, you probably should not have been playing him,” commented a Facebook user.
Lilley has continued to post more Jonah From Tonga clips even after Filipe Mahe’s storey was published by The Sydney Morning Herald, who claims Jonah’s character was based upon him.
“This is one of the saddest and most awful stories I’ve read in a long time,” one Twitter user responded to the article.
“Chris Lilley took a real-life schoolkid, struggling with dyslexia and family tragedy, and turned him into a minstrel skit.”
This is one of the saddest and most awful stories I've read in a long time. Chris Lilley took a real-life schoolkid, struggling with dyslexia and family tragedy, and turned him into a minstrel skit https://t.co/KqSusCu7Px
— Alex McKinnon (@mckinnon_a) June 28, 2020
News outlets reported remarkable parallels with Mahe ‘s ABC documentary as a schoolboy and Jonah character from Lilley. After watching the show, Mahe told The Sydney Morning Herald that he felt “embarrassed, full of hatred, frustrated and manipulated.”
Lilley has played many other characters who have caused controversy throughout his career period, including an African American rapper called S Mouse who also uses the N word.