Neighbours star Sharon Johal opens up about racist social media trolls

Neighbours star Sharon Johal opens up about the years of racism she has faced in her acting career and what was different about Australian’s most famous street.

I have been looked at differently for as long as I can remember. There was no-one else like me at school.

I was criticised for the way I spoke English, I wasn’t invited to parties, I was the last one picked for activities and boys didn’t ask me out because they were scared of being judged for being with the “brown” girl.

”After a decade of heartbreak, I lost hope and gave up on my acting dream.” (Picture: Supplied)

I’m a third generation Australian of Indian heritage yet racism has been a constant part of my life. As a child it was hard to understand and I tried to talk to my parents, but their overarching suffering as immigrants paled in comparison and they told me to stay quiet to fit in.

They threatened to disown me if I pursued a career in acting. So while studying to be a lawyer, I attended acting classes in secret. While I thought my law career was purely a “back-up”, the reality was that it took me 10 years to break into the acting industry.

Every aspect of acting was a challenge. Agents told me they couldn’t represent me as there was no work for “people like me”. They were right. It wasn’t just auditions that didn’t exist.

I was on the outer of the acting community – I didn’t have the contacts, I wasn’t privy to nepotism and I wasn’t invited into the inner circle. It was like I wasn’t supposed to be there.

After a decade of heartbreak, I lost hope and gave up on my acting dream. I moved from Melbourne to Sydney for a fresh start and 18 months later I got the call for Neighbours. After a long audition process, I was cast. I was in disbelief and waiting for something to go wrong because it didn’t feel real until the day I stepped foot on set.

“People say things like ‘you and your filthy children need to leave Ramsay Street’.” (Picture: Supplied)

When I arrived on Neighbours, albeit feeling like an imposter, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a young female producer in charge and an Asian actor on set who formed one half of a gay couple. Diversity at last!

My presence as a person of full Indian heritage was huge, and forming part of an interracial relationship with interracial children was a first.

Despite these positive developments, I came to understand that I couldn’t escape racism, not even on Australia’s most famous street. I’m incessantly trolled on social media and sometimes even in public, with people saying things like “go back to your country” and “you and your filthy children need to leave Ramsay Street”.

They also harass my family, including my non-actor husband after he did me a favour and stood in for a cast member for intimate scenes during the pandemic.

There’s a long way to go when it comes to representation on Australian screens and in our media. There have been many times when I’ve felt the inadequate consideration made to the intricacies of representing people of diverse backgrounds.

I feel exhausted and have unwittingly become somewhat of a flag-bearer in championing these communities. Yet we must persevere.

Sharon Johal features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

I often feel alone as an actor and as someone who advocates for positive change, and witness all too often the bystander phenomenon – when people say they want to help but stay silent when injustice occurs in front of them.

I want the balance to shift, for this to be the exception rather than the norm, and for our actions to reflect what our society could be. Diversity on screen in Australia is slowly progressing and with the rise of greater global awareness, I’m encouraged.

To allies and those doing the work, I thank you. To those in my shoes, I hope the courage that I and the people before me have shown makes the road easier for you to travel.

Sharon Johal stars in Neighbours, 6.30pm weeknights on 10 Peach.

MORE STELLAR

How a Home And Away star landed Jodie Foster’s coveted role

Jess Eva opens up about her brutal rejection