Comedian Marty Sheargold dresses up as a ‘Dubai mining magnate’ on Have You Been Paying Attention? and asks if cultural appropriation is fine ‘if you do it in the privacy of your own home’
Marty Sheargold posed a rather controversial question on Have You Been Paying Attention? on Monday night: Is it really cultural appropriation if you do it in the privacy of your own home?
The comedian and radio host, 49, shared with the panel a photo of himself wearing what appeared to be a traditional ethnic outfit.
He jokingly described his ensemble as that of a Dubai mining magnate.
Under fire: Comedian Marty Sheargold has been called out for his ‘unfunny’ and ‘borderline inappropriate’ jokes on Have You Been Paying Attention? on Monday
Marty explained: ‘That was me road testing a couple of ideas about cultural appropriation. Whether or not, and I’m asking everyone, it’s okay to do it in the privacy of your own home.’
He added: ‘I was going for a sort of a mining magnate, kind of Dubai feel.’
The joke drew a mixed response on Twitter, with some viewers saying it was funny while others thought it was ‘borderline’.
Is it wrong? During the show, Marty shared this photo of himself wearing what appeared to be a traditional ethnic outfit. ‘I was going for a sort of a mining magnate, Dubai feel,’ he said
‘I’d ask why Marty is still allowed on television, but it’s @Channel10AU. We’re lucky he’s not the next Bachelor,’ one fan tweeted.
Another wrote: ‘Marty is making the same jokes as my dad and he’s not on TV for a reason.’
However, one supporter tweeted: ‘Marty knows how to bring the laughs.’
Mixed reception: In response to Marty’s jokes, one viewer asked why he was still allowed on television. Another tweeted, ‘Why haven’t they edited out more of Marty’s unfunny and borderline inappropriate jokes?’
Cultural appropriation in its simplest form is when someone adopts something from a culture that doesn’t belong to them.
This can be a hairstyle, a style of dress or a way of speaking, for example.
Marty’s joke raised the question of whether cultural appropriation is actually harmful if nobody but the ‘appropriator’ knows about it.
Funny: But it seems some fans appreciated Marty’s sense of humour
Favourites: ‘I’m sorry but #Kitty and @Marty_Sheargold are my favourite panellists on #HYBPA,’ one supporter tweeted