Comedian Rodney Marks sparks backlash over ‘violent black men’ comment in ‘comedy skit’ at Conservative Political Action Conference – as Indigenous Voice to Parliament No campaigner Gary Johns draws outrage after his own speech
A comedian has been criticized after comparing Indigenous Australians to ‘violent black men’ and ‘rent seekers’ in a ‘comedy skit’ at a Conservative political conference.
Rodney Marks, a corporate comedian, performed the controversial sketch at the Conservative Political Action Conference Star Casino in Sydney on Sunday.
The conference featured speeches from a host of Conservative politicians and business leaders, such as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and CPAC network chairman Warren Mundine.
Marks, who played the role of UN diplomat ‘Dr. Chaim Tsibos’ also denounced indigenous leader Bennelong as a ‘woman-beater’ during his speech.
The audience is heard chuckling as the comedian tells them, “I’d like to acknowledge the traditional rent-seekers, past, present and emerging.”
A comedian at a Conservative political conference has left some in his audience down after he compared Indigenous Australians to ‘violent black men’ and ‘rent seekers’
But seriously, I want to acknowledge the traditional owners, violent black men.
“I hope there are some real feminists in the audience who appreciate the partial truth of that joke.
“It’s interesting that the land of the Sydney Opera House is called wife-beater Bennelong, while his victim and wife Barangaroo get only a questionable casino, PwC offices and sandstone cutouts built over the land named after her.”
A snippet of Marks’ 25-minute speech was uploaded to Twitter on Sunday, with outraged users quickly slamming his address.
However, CPAC shrugged off the criticism and defended Marks, writing, “Come on..it was a comedy skit guys. It’s from www.comedian.com.”
In response to another angry tweet, the account wrote, “Cheer up buttercup” followed by a single thumbs up emoji.
“What planet are those jokes on. That was disgusting,” wrote another.
Others labeled it “disgusting” and “disgraceful” when they joined in the pileup.
One user described Marks’ 25-minute performance on Sunday as ‘appalling’
CPAC quickly shrugged off the criticism and defended the “comedy skit” on Twitter
According to his website, Marks “gives funny keynote speeches that are almost believable.”
Rodney has a growing repertoire of over 350 characters, with numerous accents and dialects, from hundreds of professions.
“He’s a business imposter—a comedic hoax speaker in a suit.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted CPAC for comment.
His speech came just hours after Gary Johns, a spokesperson for the No campaign, recommended Indigenous Australians ‘learn English’ if they wanted a voice and claimed that some in remote communities were ‘living in a stupor’.
“If you don’t try to get those people out of that remote community or out of the torpor they live in, or give them the tools to adapt to living in the modern world, the world we’ve inherited, then you have to you’re ‘wrong’, he said.
‘Being practical is not the solution. In the name of integration you have to do practical things.’
Johns then claimed to be quoting Dave Price, the father of the coalition senator and the face of the No campaign, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
As Dave Price, Jacinta’s father, has said to me often enough, ‘If you want a voice, learn English. That’s your voice,’ he told the crowd.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also addressed the crowd at the political conference
Gary John, a No campaigner, advised Indigenous Australians to ‘learn English’ if they wanted a voice and claimed that some in remote communities were ‘living in a stupor’.
Greens Senator Sarah Hansons-Young later condemned Johns’ speech on Twitter and asked opposition leader Peter Dutton to condemn the speech.
“There should be no fenders on this ballot. Whether you think this filthy mess is okay or not,” she wrote.
“Each of us has a choice. You belong to the Nasties who vote no, or you believe Australia can do better and vote yes.’
Other speakers at the two-day conference included former Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming and former Deputy Prime Ministers John Anderson, who served under John Howard, and Barnaby Joyce, who served under Scott Morrison.