Content creator fired after ‘racist’ online video goes viral
Updated . First published
An online content creator has been fired after a sketch video in which she portrayed a white woman claiming to “identify” as an Indigenous Australian attracted widespread backlash.
Lisa Jane Spencer posted the video, in which she appears to portray a white woman choosing to “identify” as an Indigenous Australian, to Instagram earlier this week.
Online "comedian" Lisa Jane Spencer posted a video in which she appeared to portray a white woman who "identifies" as in Indigenous Australian. Lisa Jane Spencer
In the video, Spencer appears to mock both Indigenous Australians and those who identify as Aboriginal.
“I’m Aunty Lisa. I started identifying as a blackfella a few months ago,” she says in the short clip.
“And I finally feel at peace with who I am. One of the mob.”
The video shows Spencer wearing face paint, dancing, performing a mock smoking ceremony, and sniffing a jerry-can.
“Aboriginal identity transcends skin colour. I am Aboriginal. End of story,” she said.
Backlash to the video online was swift and furious, with negative comments piling up on the video, and Indigenous leaders also speaking out.
Now, Spencer’s workplace, Peninsula Hot Springs, appears to have cut ties with the self-declared comedian and satirist.
“Peninsula Hot Springs is aware of concerns that have been raised regarding social media content circulating online from a former employee,” the Mornington Peninsula day spa said in an online post.
Day spa Peninsula Hot Springs responds to a video posted online by "former employee" Lisa Jane Spencer. Facebook/Peninsula Hot Springs
“We want to acknowledge and sincerely recognise the concern and disappointment that has been expressed, particularly by members of First Nations communities, community partners, and those who have reached out to us directly.”
The business said it did not support or endorse Spencer’s content.
Spencer posted on Instagram that she had been “fired on the spot” and that she was “deeply disappointed”.
She claimed to have been “illegally doxxed” and that she would seek legal advice.
The video remains published online.
SBS reported video
The video displays the logo of SBS programme “Insight”, despite not being associated with the show or the network.
In a statement, SBS told nine.com.au it had reported the video.
“SBS is aware of these posts and the unauthorised use of SBS logos. The posts and individual are in no way associated with our content and have been reported,” a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.
“SBS unequivocally condemns all forms of racism and recognises the damaging impact it has on individuals, communities and social cohesion. Such views have no place in Australian society.”
Spencer has defended the video. Lisa Jane Spencer
Indigenous leaders have also addressed it, including Walk For Truth activist and Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man Travis Lovett.
Lovett, who is also executive director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Truth Telling and Dialogue, shared a statement on Instagram, while refusing to name the video.
“If this does not show why truth telling is needed in this country, I don’t know what does,” he said.
“The racism, the dehumanising language, and the willingness to target communities do not appear out of nowhere. They are born from histories left untold, truths avoided, and systems that have never fully reckoned with the harm they have caused.”
He urged people to “change the algorithm” and deny such viral videos “oxygen”.
“Share truth. Share Blak joy. Share Blak love. Share culture, community, and people walking together side by side,” he said.
Indigenous activist and leader Travis Lovett presents Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with a letter urging the creation of a truth-telling process for national healing after completing the Walk For Truth. Alex Ellinghausen
“Because while hate may be loud, it is not stronger than truth. Love, truth, and solidarity will always drown out hate. This is why we continue to walk for truth.”
Entrepreneur and 2018 ACT Australian of the Year Dion Devow, who is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man, also slammed the video in a post on Facebook.
“This morning, a woman named Lisa Jane jumped on TikTok pretending to be Aboriginal, mocking our people, our culture, our accents and even ending the skit sniffing a petrol can. That is not humour. It’s ignorant, racist and deeply disrespectful,” he wrote.
“Aboriginal people are not a costume, a joke or content for clout. Mocking our identity and reinforcing harmful stereotypes has real impacts on our communities and our young people.”
Spencer herself posted a lengthy statement on Instagram after the backlash, claiming the video was a work of comedy and refusing to apologise.
“I love Aboriginal people. And I think they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used,” she wrote.
She claimed “AI will tell you” that petrol-sniffing was “a very real thing”.
Spencer also said she was allowed to “satirise white people claiming Aboriginal heritage benefits” - an allegation she did not substantiate. Many Indigenous Australians have lighter skin.
“I apologise to absolutely nobody,” Spencer said.
Despite the video’s indulgence in a number of long-standing negative stereotypes surrounding Indigenous Australians, Spencer nonetheless claimed she “(pushed) the boundaries”.
Spencer has also posted videos mocking Indian people, which she referenced in her statement.
In a May 2026 interview she has linked out to, Spencer appeared to suggest women were biologically unsuited to nine-to-five jobs, and that aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic were a “scam”.
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