Toxic racism, sexism and misogyny in Ramsay St is downright unneighbourly, says Shareena Clanton

Actor Shareena Clanton expects more cast and crew will speak out about the toxic culture on the set of television drama Neighbours.

Shareena Clanton says ­racism, sexism and misogyny are “rife” on the set of Australian television drama Neighbours and expects more actors and on-set staff to speak out about the production.

The 32-year-old Melbourne actor, best known for starring in prison drama Wentworth, said she had personally encountered racism and sexism when filming episodes in recent months.

In an Instagram post, she said one actor had called a colleague a “lil monkey” and staff would repeatedly use racist language.

“Overt and covert levels of ­racism were rife, often disguised as ‘jokes’, like a while actress openly calling another actor of colour a ‘lil monkey’,” she wrote.

“The retaliation for calling out this misconduct and racism often left me ostracised and further marginalised,” Clanton wrote.

Clanton was backed by another Indigenous actor, Meyne Wyatt, said he too had witnessed racism on the Neighbours set when he was a regular guest between 2014 and 2016.

“It involved the C word and I called it out and it didn’t happen around me again,” he said.

“And it is disappointing but not at all surprising to hear that five years later racism continues to be present in that workplace.”

Clanton, who was on contract with Neighbours for around five months, told The Australian she had been contacted by other actors but would not name them.

“They’ve felt encouraged by me and said I’m not alone when speaking up, but this isn’t about me being the martyr,” he said.

“You are talking about people across the board — it’s not just actors, it’s also crew members.”

Clanton claims she was left in tears on multiple occasions when encountering behaviour that, she said, “wouldn’t be acceptable in any other workplace”. “There’s a beast of racism, white supremacy and toxic behaviour and sexism and misogyny that really needs to be shifted and changed.”

Indigenous actor Shareena Clanton.

Meyne Wyatt was the first indigenous actor to have a permanent role on Neigbours.

On the show, Clanton plays Sheila Canning who arrives at Ramsay Street as a business mogul looking to buy property.

She said she would never work for the show — which first aired 36 years ago — again.

“It’s been a toxic culture of complicity for a very long time prior to me even starting my contract,” Clanton said.

She said Penny Smallacombe, Screen Australia’s Head of Indigenous, had also contacted her to discuss the issues she experienced when working on the show.

Clanton said she paid for a Wurundjeri elder, Aunty Diane Kerr, to be on the Neighbours set to ensure cultural protocols were followed when she was playing her role. She said this happened after it was discovered the show did not have enough funds in their budget to do so.

Clanton was paid $5000 a week for her role and about $500 a week for her position as a cultural consultant.

She is not the first Neighbours star to claim racism: in February, actor Sharon Johal, who has played Dipi Rebecchi for four years, spoke of fans of the show would yelling racist insults to her on the street.

Indigenous actor Shareena Clanton alleges inappropriate behaviour on the Neighbours set.

She wrote: “I came to understand that I couldn’t escape ­racism, not even on Australia’s most famous street.”

She made her first appearance on screen as Deepika “Dipi” ­Rebecchi in 2017.

Fremantle Australia, the company which produces Neighbours for Network 10, did not deny the claims in a statement.

Instead, the company said “Neighbours strives to be a platform for diversity and inclusion on-screen and off-screen“.

“Our quest is always to continue to grow and develop in this area and we acknowledge that this is an evolving process. We will continue to work with all cast and crew to ensure Neighbours continues to be fully inclusive.”

Dan Bennett, a former Network 10 executive with responsibility for Neighbours, also said behaviour like that described by Clanton would not be “condoned from the top” and “heads will roll” when the issue was investigated.