Hit’s Juelz Jarry hits out at ‘casual’ racism

Former Editor & Content Director

Juelz Jarry (left) pictured with c0-hosts Dylan Alcott and Angus O’Loughlin 

The Hit Network’s Weekend Breakfast co-host Juelz Jarry has made an impassioned speech about the harm and hurt caused by ‘casual’ racism, using the radio show to call on everyone to step up and be better.

Jarry was inspired to speak after the controversy surrounding news presenter, influencer and former star of The Bachelorette, Georgia Love, who posted an Instagram story featuring a cat in the window of an Asian restaurant. The video of the pet cat was captioned ‘Server or lunch?’

“Now, firstly, if you think that this isn’t racist, you’re a part of the problem, and from my point of view, there is nothing bloody casual about it,” Jarry said in a monologue on this week’s show. “Did I take offence to it? No. Did I find it funny? No. I thought ‘Geez, how original. Asians eating cats’. I’ve seen and I’ve heard it all before. Side note, some of us also eat rats, dogs and bats. And that’s been my response for the majority of my life. I make countless remarks about being Asian on this show, in fact all my shows.”

Jarry noted that the constant jokes at the expense of Asian-Australians made her defensive and self-deprecating, even going so far as to participate in the jokes as a form of self-preservation.

“I’ve heard it all, and for those of you that don’t know, I am Filipino. From hushed comments that I’ve come over on a boat, that my mum’s a mail-order bride, to using a shoelace as a blindfold, to being called a ladyboy, and the one I hate the most ‘Oh, you’re too pretty to be an Asian’,” she continued.

“I just want to reiterate how it actually feels, and why us as Asians do this, why we self-deprecate.

“I want you to think about something about yourself that you cannot change. And people keep pointing that out to you over and over again – it becomes like a negative, in a derogative way. You’re the butt-end of every joke and you’re the minority. You become so self-conscious of it, you start to become ashamed and embarrassed because of it. And this is what it’s like for most Asians living in the Western world, being subjected to this so-called ‘casual’ racism.”

Jarry said she did not accept Love’s apology, because it didn’t appear the influencer had taken the time to educate herself sufficiently in the time between posting and deleting the vide.

“I actually feel extremely sorry for you that you thought that this kind of behaviour is appropriate and that you’re not actually mature enough to address it within yourself,” she said, addressing Love.

Despite her disdain towards the situation, Jarry said Love should not be ‘cancelled’. Instead, she suggested society replace ‘cancel culture’ with ‘critical thinking’, which would enable us to have more empathetic conversations and separate ignorant decisions and actual hate.

The radio host said she needs to stop participating in the culture by putting herself down and making jokes at the expense of her cultural heritage, but also urged her listeners to step up and do more to move the dial.

“If there’s one thing that I want you to take away from this, I want you to know that it starts with you. I’ve been in countless situations in the past where I’m in a group, and someone makes a causal racist remark and I’ve laughed it off like the rest of them. I want you to pull that person up. Say something. Because if calling someone out or being called out for racism makes you feel uncomfortable, I want you to imagine how the person hearing it feels.”

Jarry hosts Weekend Breakfast on SCA’s Hit Network alongside Angus O’Loughlin and Dylan Alcott. Prior to her Weekend gig, she was part of Hit 92.9’s Breakfast show in Perth alongside Xavier Ellis and Pete Curulli. The Xavier, Juelz & Pete show was disbanded when 92.9 shifted to the Triple M network in December.

You can listen to Jarry’s full speech, or read the transcript, below. 

“Okay, I just want to have a little talk about casual racism. Now, this has come from the latest cancel culture situation with Georgia Love, and if you’re unaware of what’s happened, earlier in the week in her Insta stories, she posted a video of a cat in a Chinese restaurant with the text over the top that said ‘Server or lunch?’

“Now, firstly, if you think that this isn’t racist, you’re a part of the problem, and from my point of view, there is nothing bloody casual about it. Did I take offence to it? No. Did I find it funny? No. I thought ‘Geez, how original. Asians eating cats’. I’ve seen and I’ve heard it all before. Side note, some of us also eat rats, dogs and bats. And that’s been my response for the majority of my life. I make countless remarks about being Asian on this show, in fact all my shows. Even last week, Gussy, when you were asked what colour I remind you of, and you responded with ‘Yellow’, and my first response back to you was ‘Oh is that because I’m Asian?’ Like, I am the result of so-called ‘harmless’ casual racism.

“I’m so defensive about who I am that my first reaction is self-depreciation and humour to take the edge off it, and I know that I’m not the only Asian that does this. We’ve all said and have heard some form of racism. It’s ignorant to think that it doesn’t exist, and unfortunately, racism is always going to exist in some form.

“I’ve heard it all, and for those of you that don’t know, I am Filipino. From hushed comments that I’ve come over on a boat, that my mum’s a mail-order bride, to using a shoelace as a blindfold, to being called a ladyboy, and the one I hate the most ‘Oh, you’re too pretty to be an Asian’.

“I’m not playing the victim here, and there are no winners, expect maybe Nadia Bartel, who’s just relieved that the spotlight isn’t on her for what’s happened in the week before.

“But I just want to reiterate how it actually feels, and why us as Asians do this, why we self-deprecate.

“I want you to think about something about yourself that you cannot change. And people keep pointing that out to you over and over again – it becomes like a negative, in a derogative way. You’re the butt-end of every joke and you’re the minority. You become so self-conscious of it, you start to become ashamed and embarrassed because of it. And this is what it’s like for most Asians living in the Western world, being subjected to this so-called ‘casual’ racism.

“For Georgia Love, I personally don’t accept your apology, because I highly doubt you educated yourself in the five minutes that this video was posted before getting called out for it and deleting it, and then posting up a half-arsed apology when you realised that this would affect your influencer endorsement deals, and to find out that shockingly, this isn’t even the first time you’ve done this, I actually feel extremely sorry for you that you thought that this kind of behaviour is appropriate and that you’re not actually mature enough to address it within yourself.

“But do I believe that you should be cancelled? No. I do believe that this whole cancel culture thing should be replaced with critical thinking. We would have far more empathetic conversations rather than emotional reactions, and by talking, we learn to separate these ignorant decisions [from] actual hate.

“But this is where I need to stop, and what I do in my general day-to-day life of putting myself down.

“With that aside, if there’s one thing that I want you to take away from this, I want you to know that it starts with you. I’ve been in countless situations in the past where I’m in a group, and someone makes a casual racist remark and I’ve laughed it off like the rest of them. I want you to pull that person up. Say something. Because if calling someone out or being called out for racism makes you feel uncomfortable, I want you to imagine how the person hearing it feels.”

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Iris
14 Sep 2021 - 1:29 pm

Do you mean ‘casual’??

    14 Sep 2021 - 3:36 pm

    Hi Iris,

    I do, and from what I can see, that’s what I have said? I keep staring at the headline and it definitely says ‘casual’, as it did in the newsletter EDM and subject line. Lockdown brain could finally be getting to me though, so apologies if you’re referring to something else and I simply can’t see it?

    I did find a typo of ‘casual’ in the transcript, so thank you for flagging that something might be wrong.

    Vivienne – Radio Today

Peter
14 Sep 2021 - 4:02 pm

What is the difference between casual racism and non casual racism?

Mike
14 Sep 2021 - 6:25 pm

This reads like a gossip peace. Let’s bring back real radio news guys! Leave this to news.com.au

    14 Sep 2021 - 6:36 pm

    Hi Mike,

    I fundamentally disagree that a prominent radio star talking about how her experiences of racism have shaped how she talks about herself, presents herself and thinks about herself, as well as how she reacts to comments from her co-stars is ‘gossip’ or not ‘real news’.

    We frequently report on passion points, campaigns and talk breaks from on-air stars.

    There is plenty of other ‘real’ news here as well if that’s more your cup of tea.

    Vivienne – Radio Today

Rob
14 Sep 2021 - 8:13 pm

I don’t want to start a war here because that it not what this site is about but it has to be said that Viv and Jake’s “Under 30’s Awards” are a great example of casual age discrimination

Chris
15 Sep 2021 - 8:18 am

Thanks for sharing – great words from Juelz!

Ryan B
15 Sep 2021 - 3:21 pm

Is it possible to be casually offended by something?

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