Tongan SBS presenter Meliame Fifita slams Chris Lilley’s Jonah from Tonga as degrading to her people

A VOCAL member of Australia’s Tongan community has slammed Chris Lilley’s new comedy Jonah from Tonga as racist and degrading of her people.

A VOCAL member of Australia’s Tongan community has slammed Chris Lilley’s new mockumentary Jonah from Tonga as racist and degrading of her people.

The expletive-laden comedy, which debuts on ABC1 tonight, revives the character of Jonah Takalua, a misbehaving Tongan high school boy.

Meliame Fifita, who presents SBS’s Tongan program, said she was worried about what people would think about Tongans after they watched the show.

“It’s quite concerning that it’s going to create a stereotype of Tongans as troublemakers, and the younger ones will think that’s the way to behave,” Mrs Fifita said.

“It’s degrading for us Tongans.”

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Chris Lilley revives his popular character Jonah Takalua on screen tonight.

Logie-winner Lilley is renowned for pushing the boundaries with his comedy, having previously inhabited the characters of bitchy schoolgirl Ja’mie King and African American rapper S.mouse.

When asked whether she thought the character of Jonah was racist, Mrs Fifita said: “I think it is in many ways … It’s beyond a joke.”

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She objected especially to the way the program’s characters spoke.

“Swearing in Tonga is very taboo; it’s not OK to swear,” she said.

Producers from the show visited Mrs Fifita twice last year to research the Tongan culture, but she feels they didn’t listen to what she told them.

“I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t take what I said on board,” she said.

ABC TV head of comedy Rick Kalowski said he didn’t think the program could be fairly categorised as racist.

“Jonah from Tonga plays with stereotypes, but it’s doing so to make an observation about the narrow-minded attitudes expressed by some of its characters, including Jonah’s own,” he said.

“Indeed, prejudice by and against Jonah is clearly shown to be at the root of the problems he faces in the series.

“It’s also worth noting that while Jonah himself might be a heightened comic character, virtually every other Tongan or Islander character in the series is presented as a well-rounded, believable person without comic traits: Jonah’s brother, sister, cousin, aunt and his social worker ‘Kool Kris’.”

Jonah laughs with his brother Moses in Jonah from Tonga. Picture: ABC TV

Mrs Fifita said the show did not represent what Tongans were really like.

“Swearing, that’s not allowed, disrespect for brothers and sisters and disrespect for fathers is not allowed. And that’s the assumption, that how people we see us,” she said.

She said friends of hers in their 40s were concerned about the way Tongans were portrayed, but some younger members of the community were excited about the program and had posted about it on their Facebook pages.

“It’s seen to be positive with them,” she said.

Mrs Fifita was keen to present a different view of Tongan people.

“We can be very friendly, we are great people to meet and to talk to — we’re definitely not like Jonah,” she said.

Mrs Fifita said her nephew and her first cousin’s son would appear as actors in the show.

Jonah from Tonga screens tonight on ABC1 at 9pm.

Watch the official, uncensored trailer below and make up your own mind. Warning: It’s full of swearing. Continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ.

Originally published as Tongan SBS presenter Meliame Fifita slams Chris Lilley’s Jonah from Tonga as degrading to her people