A Melbourne content creator who was sacked this week over a satirical video mocking white Australians who claim Indigenous heritage had already attracted significant attention days earlier with a similar parody targeting the Indian community.
Mornington Peninsula based Lisa Jane Spencer had earlier posted a video in which she dressed and spoke in Indian accent, and declared:
“I was assigned Australian at birth, but I identify as Indian.”
The video showed her throwing rubbish on a front lawn while complaining that life was “a lot harder” with “much less melanin,” and included a crack about deodorant.
Spencer stirred controversy as soon as she posted a video mocking Aboriginal performing “comedy” under the persona “Aunty Lisa.” Peninsula Hot Springs distanced itself swiftly, acknowledging “concern and disappointment” from First Nations communities and stating it did not endorse content “inconsistent with our values or our commitment to inclusion, respect and cultural safety.”
The contrasting reception to the two videos sits at the heart of the controversy now swirling around Spencer’s dismissal from Peninsula Hot Springs, where she was fired on the spot last Wednesday — less than 24 hours after the Aboriginal identity video was posted.
That video showed Spencer in a faux-fur jacket holding a bowl of burning eucalyptus leaves, white paint on her face, and a badge featuring the Aboriginal flag. “I’m Aunty Lisa,” she says. “I started identifying as a black fella a few months ago.” The clip ends with Spencer placing a petrol can in front of her nose — a reference that drew particular condemnation given the serious and complex issue of petrol sniffing in some Indigenous communities.
In a post on Facebook, Spencer said the video was a parody of an SBS Insight episode and framed it as satire of “what I see as an even more absurd idea: white people claiming Aboriginal identity for benefits.” She said she stood by the content and apologised “to absolutely nobody.”
Spencer said friends and supporters had launched a fundraiser to help cover expenses after her workplace was allegedly doxxed online and she lost her job. She added that the funds would assist with legal costs and provide financial support while she is unemployed, thanking supporters for their donations and encouragement.
The reaction from her online following told a different story to the institutional condemnation. Hundreds of supporters rallied in the comments of her social media posts, with many comparing her style to classic British comedy — the kind, they argued, that once lampooned everyone without malice and would now be deemed unacceptable. “You are the Sal Grover of comedy,” wrote one follower, referencing the celebrated Australian satirist. Others encouraged Spencer to double down. “I’d go even harder and make a series of Aunty Lisa videos,” one supporter wrote.
Spencer, anticipating further consequences, addressed her followers directly. “Feel very weird making this but I just felt like I needed to say this before my account potentially gets nuked,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Comedy will be back soon, I promise.”
SBS confirmed it had not asked Spencer to remove the video but said the posts featured “unauthorised use of its logos” and that she was “in no way associated” with its content. The broadcaster said it “unequivocally condemns all forms of racism.”
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