During a solo concert in Melbourne over the weekend, Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas’ attempt at humor went seriously wrong. Rob, who is playing throughout Australia up until he headlines the Clipsal 500 Adelaide After-Race show on March 6, was vamping during a technical hiccup in his set. Attempting to endear himself to the crowd, he joked that he combatted jet-lag by drinking. In trying to convey exactly how much he drank to do so, Rob claims he used 3 analogies that were as far from him as possible; an Australian, a little girl and a “black Australian”:
Rob Thomas’ attempt at humor during a concert in Australia did not go over well.
The 44-year-old rock singer and Matchbox Twenty frontman, who is on a solo tour to promote his new album The Great Unknown, made a racist joke unintentionally while performing at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Saturday. He later apologized for his remark and said he “cried” when he found out the meaning of what he had said.
At the show, Thomas told the crowd he had figured out how to combat the jet lag that accompanies a flight from the United States.
“When you get on the plane on your way here, you start drinking,” he said, as seen in a video posted by TMZ. “And then I drink till I think I’m Australian. And then I keep drinking till I think I’m a black Australian.”
His comment was met with a mix of laughter, groans, murmurs and boos.
“Don’t be racist,” he said.
“And then I drink until I think I’m a pretty little girl,” he continued, drawing laughs. “And then my wife starts to get worried about me and I stop drinking for a minute.”
Following an online backlash, Thomas said on Facebook Sunday he “did not intend to make a joke ABOUT race.”
“I have seen people comment that after coming here for so long I should know that there is a connection between the indigenous peoples of Australia and a stereotype involving drinking,” he said. “Embarrassingly, I truly didn’t.”
“The joke I made was meant to be at no one’s expense but my own,” he added. “I made a comment about drinking so much on the long flight over that I started to think I was something I’m not…I’m not Australian. I’m not black and I’m not a little girl. Again, if I had any idea of the stereotype I would have chosen another example. There was absolutely no malice even in jest.”
Thomas said he was “so ignorant to the situation” that when he heard people groan, he “actually thought THEY were being racist.”
“I didn’t know until TODAY that just the phrase ‘black Australian’ was racist all on it’s own,” he said. “I sat in my room and I cried when I found out.”
“I am truly sorry for how this came across, most of all to the indigenous people here,” he added. “Australia has been so good to me for so long that I’m embarrassed I don’t know more about the history and the culture. While I’m here I’m going to use this opportunity to rectify that. I promise you this!”
Fans commended Thomas for apologizing, with one follower writing on Facebook, ” I am very glad to read you’re going to take time to learn about Aboriginal culture while you’re here. Thank you for listening, and for being honest, remorseful and open to learning.”
You can read Rob’s full Facebook apology here. Regardless of intent, this was an incredibly stupid thing to say. Why use color at all? It’s not like his own country isn’t having issues with diversity and insensitivity.
So, was his apology good enough? The main criticism against him is that having been to Australia as many times as he has, he should be more aware of the political climate and I agree. I am okay with holding artists responsible for cultural sensitivities – managers, PR folks, agents; someone should do their homework and fill the performer in, if not the performer his/herself. Whereas I am still coming down on the side of this was an amazingly dumb thing to say, I thought his apology sounded sincere. Some Australian fans are trying to give him the benefit of the doubt while others are asking him to make good on his promise to learn about the Aboriginal plight. A few are calling for the Clipsal 500 organizers to censure him, which I doubt they will, but I want to believe he will take to the time to educate himself.
Imagine drinking so much you actually become Rob Thomas.
— Lindsay McDowens (@doctormcdougall) February 21, 2016
Bloody hell, Rob Thomas. You don't have to study Australian racism to know that that 'joke' was racist.
— Joshy20(1)6 (@Joshy206) February 21, 2016
Rob Thomas didn't know that joke was offensive. Alice Kunek thought blackface was a sign of solidarity.
… the year is 2016, right?
Right?— Danielle Binks (@danielle_binks) February 21, 2016
Photo credit: WENN Photos
He seemed sincere. It is never too late to learn one’s culture.
Yeah. I don’t think he intended to be racist. Teachable moment.
unfortunately, many people don’t intend to be racist but are capable of saying brain numbing thoughtless comments. One of the worst stereotypes is of the drunken Indian..I don’t drink alcohol in any form just because I’ve seen too many waitresses or bartenders smirk when I ordered, so I decided I was not going to fuel the stereotype.
Remember folks, Daniel Snyder doesn’t think he’s racist.
That’s ridiculous that you can’t enjoy a drink because someone else is a jackass. People need to mind their own business.
What?! 😳
This was the first time I heard about this type of stereotype.
Open mouth, insert foot. In this day and age, one inappropriate statement, word, thought will follow you forever. Think hard before you speak. You apologized dude, no need to cry about it. Move on..
It seems apologies are no longer enough. People want you to walk the street beating yourself with wire.
He sounds sincere to me and although a terrible thing to say, I understand the joke he was trying to make. I don’t really blame him for not knowing either. It’s not like Aussies go around mentioning the problems some indigenous people have with alcohol. Depending on where he’s visited he might not have come across many indigenous people at all.
That’s what I was thinking. Probably not a lot of indigenous people are going to Rob Thomas concerts, from what I gather? I think you could easily make this mistake. The parallel in American culture isn’t black Americans but native ones. He’s throwing the word “black” around casually like an American would and it makes sense that he’d think the audience was being racist for understanding it differently.
I genuinely wish this wasn’t the kind of thing that attracted attention. These small faux pas–especially those that get lost in translation–just don’t speak to real issues with institutionalized racism. To me, they’re such a distraction.
What do you mean not a lot of Indigenous people are going to Rob Thomas concerts??? Wow..oh wow..I am a fan of Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty..as for the term Black Aboriginal it has been used since the Europeans arrived in Australia. It is a teachable moment but not only for Rob Thomas.
I used to live in a rural community with a large portion of the population being indigenous. This comment about indigenous people not attending a rob Thomas concert was was naive and based on what evidence I’m curious to know…? I realise it was an iccocent remark but it disappointing. I’m not a concert goer but I can tell you indigenous Australians like the same music that everyone else does.
@rosealee Thank you for opening up and teaching a lot of us a lot more. I feel you about not doing even innocuous things to avoid perpetuating a stereotype, when the sickness is not with you, but with “them,” the racists.
-TheRealPinky
@rosalee, He said black Australian, not black Aboriginal. That’s how an American would see it. We don’t use the term aboriginal; we say Native American or black/African-American and the two are not one and the same. So I’m pointing out that while he’s clearly observed black Australians, he obviously hasn’t interacted much with them (or probably all that much with Australians, period) or he’d be more aware of the terms common to your society. And the fact that he hasn’t interacted much with them allows me to draw conclusions about who attends his concerts there.
Anyway, that’s why I qualified it with a question mark and the words “from what I gather” rather than as if I were stating a fact. Obviously not saying no indigenous Australian has ever attended a Rob Thomas concert or that you can’t like whatever the hell you want.
As a parallel, consider the fact that one of your most famous Australians is clearly clueless about race in America. Despite spending a good deal of time in the United States, he feels no qualms about dressing up like cowboys and Indians for Hallowe’en like it’s 1970 all over again and advertising this via Instagram. Granted, a lot of idiot white American 20-somethings are equally ignorant but the point is made: one racist society’s race problems don’t necessarily resonate with those of another racist society.
ETA: @Lucrezia oh, I just realized she didn’t say she was Australian. But that’s who I was referring to when I said indigenous.
You’re American Indian right Rosalee? (I’m assuming based on your comment above about Indian stereotypes). I think you’re wrong about the acceptability of “Black Aboriginal”. Actually, no one uses that phrase, so I’m guessing you mis-wrote and meant Black Australian?
As a white Aussie, I would be extremely wary of using the phrase. It’s not like black American (which is generally okay, even if the person prefers African-American they’re not going to think it’s an intentional insult). I’m sure there’s a few Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who prefer the label black or Black Australian, but if you’re white you’re a LOT safer sticking with Aboriginal/s (people/person) or Indigenous (people/person).
I think Rob Thomas might’ve been called out simply for using the phrase, even if he hadn’t associated it with alcohol. (Which someone has obviously pointed out to him, since he apologised for that to.) That said, saying “black Australian” is a totally understandable mistake for an American to make. Associating a specific race/group with alcohol … that was not so understandable.
In general he’s not a racist pig at all, so I think this was a lame attempt at being funny that might have gone over with his mates but not on a national stage. I bet he will NEVER make a mistake like that again. And I like it that he said he cried!
I agree. It’s true I’m a big fan, but I honestly believe he’s a decent guy. It was just a really dumb joke that should not have been said on stage. I also think the apology is sincere, and that he’ll take the time to learn from this mistake.
I don’t really blame him for not knowing about the stereotype, even as an Australian it’s the kind of thing you only find out about after hearing racist diatribes and ‘jokes’, so depending on the company you keep and the media you consume, you can go a long time without encountering it. I doubt any white Australians have commented (in any way) on Aboriginals in the presence of a visiting American pop star. So I’m not sure how he would have known, especially since I’m not sure he was even specifically referring to Aboriginal people with ‘black Australian’, most Americans just assume there’s a much larger African Australian population than there actually is.
I don’t think his ‘joke’ was meant to be racist, he was just using hyperbole to illustrate how out of it he was. But removing the inadvertent racism, it’s still just not funny and badly told, so he might want to leave the stand up routine for the shower and just sing.
You said what I was trying to say but better
He doesn’t get a free pass for not knowing about the history of Australia. My 10 year old doesn’t know the history of Australia and she wouldn’t make that joke.
It’s not funny to align indigenous cultures from any country with alcohol abuse. It’s just not.
Yep x100
So, what should we do with him?
“It’s not funny to align indigenous cultures from any country with alcohol abuse.”
But that isn’t what he was doing. He was making a joke about his OWN alcohol consumption.
And it’s not realistic to expect every human being to be culturally sensitive in every country of the world. Bringing race into a joke is never a good idea. But sometimes people expect way too much knowledge about certain topics from everyone else. Also, your 10-year-old seems super advanced then.
I’ve never been to Australia and to the best of my knowledge I have never met an Australian but I know that the indigenous people there are stereotyped as lazy drunks. This stuff is actually on the news, I remember not long ago they were demonstrating over how child abuse within the community was covered by international media and the alcohol issue was a major theme. But even if I wasnt one to watch world news, I would still expect this particular stereotype because practically all minority indigenous groups around the world have been stereotyped in the exact same way. Australia is not going to be the exception in the global pattern of human a**holery.
^^Brilliant. Spot on.
Still, my (American) brother just spent a year there and he said for the longest time, he kept seeing these groups of unbelievably wasted people with black skin speaking a foreign language and he couldn’t figure out what country they were all coming from. Then he got drunk for a week (he, too, has a problem) and hung out with them and realized they were speaking English and they were indigenous Australians. Then he started to realize they were the target of the stereotypes he had been hearing about (while in Australia) but had no clue who they applied to.
And that’s how you start to piece together how other societies work. I knew about indigenous Australians–I knew the government treated them at least as bad as in North America, even though I don’t think they had anywhere near the territorial control that Native Americans had.* I don’t remember knowing they looked black or were so strongly identified as drunks…like America a century ago or something (or maybe Fargo in 1970)…until my brother told me.
*Going back to at least the era of the French and Indian war, Native American tribes were real political actors and colonial rivals in terms of territory. The Comanche empire (excellent book!) was a formidable obstacle to the federal government’s Manifest Destiny blather. I don’t know a lot about Aboriginal Australians, but it seems they didn’t exercise this kind of power and that Australian government policies were just plain simple disenfranchisement because we can!
alcohol abuse is rife in a lot of aboriginal communities. It’s a fact. A poor joke from Thomas. He’s apologised – time to move on.
@ GreenieWeenie: okay, I have to ask. What did you think Indigenous Australians looked like? Native Americans? Inuit? Polynesian? Pink with purple polka dots?
Re: early Aboriginal political power. You guys had Manifest Destiny blather, we had the Terra Nullius myth (translation “no mans land”). England never formally acknowledged Australia as being inhabited. So the settlers/invaders didn’t try to buy land like they did in the US. There were no formal wars, nor any form of treaty. It was seen as “unused” so they just moved in. Since England never formally recognised the Indigenous people as owning land, or having any sovereign rights, it was impossible for them to have any legal/political power.
On top of that, there were a lot fewer Indigenous Australians (estimates range from 318,000–750,000) than the indigenous population of North America (guess range from 2 to 18 million). The early Aboriginal clans were less warlike and slower to adopt European technology (horses, guns, etc.,). So they had less martial power than the Comanches. They couldn’t compete with the invaders in the same way.
What a dumbass! Everytime I’ve seen him interviewed he always seems thoughtful and selective of his words. Guess not in australia!
I can’t believe people aren’t more outraged by this. Maybe I’m sensitive because I am Australian but seriously when is it ever funny to joke about alcohol and indigenous people no matter where you are in the world.
I can’t believe people are making excuses for him. I’m just gobsmacked.
I don’t think he’ll be allowed to forget it here.
But how much of an apology do you need? He seemed sincere to me. We all sometimes say stupid things. If we ask for forgiveness, of course it is your right not to accept it. But that is your loss, not his.
The apology is fine. I meant more the comments above practically excusing him because how could be know?
C’mon. Are we really that ignorant of other people’s cultures? The fact he inserted the word “black” into the sentence tells me he knew what he meant. He just picked the wrong audience.
The voice of reason.
“when is it ever funny to joke about alcohol and indigenous people no matter where you are in the world.”
He wasn’t making a joke about indigenous people being drunk. He made a joke about himself being so drunk he didn’t know who he was. That is a VERY different thing.
If you have to twist his words in order to make your point, it wasn’t there to begin with.
Agreed. He was not making a joke about black Australians, or black Indigenous people having a drinking problem. He was simply saying that HE was so drunk he lost track of who he was, thought he was Australian, then a black Australian, then a little girl–3 things which he’s NOT. No joke that i see was made or implied about blacks or Indigenous people being stereotypical drunks, or made about blacks or Indigenous people at all. It was not, imo, intended as any kind of racial slur.
@Tiffany, ssshhh, you’re making too much sense.
Totally. It was a stupid joke but come on now….
I understand Rob’s intent, but I also understand why the audience misunderstood where he was going with it, and booed him after the middle part. It’s only the last part of the joke that makes it really obvious what his intent was.
I apologise in advance for this, but I can’t think of a better way to explain it that using a comparable joke which I’m pretty sure would be considered racist in the US … if we changed this to: “I smoked so much crack, I woke up and thought I was black”, would you not instantly assume it was a racial slur? I’m sure you would. Even if the next part of the joke was about continuing to smoke until you thought you were a 9yr old, wouldn’t you be thinking “wait a sec, we still need to go back and have a conversation about the racist thing you just said”? Out of all the things you could’ve picked, you happened to pick THAT one? How could you not see how that was going to sound? (Actually, here in Oz, that example wouldn’t be so obviously offensive, since crack is uncommon here and there’s no stereotype about Indigenous Australians smoking crack while whites snort cocaine.)
On top of that, “black” is not anywhere near as PC down here as it is in the US. It’s not as bad as “colored”, and you can use it in some contexts, but it’s certainly an emotionally charged word and if you’re white, you’re much better off saying Aboriginal or Indigenous. So even without mention of alcohol, it might’ve caused problems.
Rob obviously didn’t MEAN to be offensive. And intent is important. But Brunswickstoval’s point is also important. Aussies are saying it that in Australia, it comes off as offensive. The proper response is to say “Oh, no! Is THAT that what you thought I meant? Terribly sorry, I didn’t realise you’d take it that way. I’ll try not to do it again.” Which is how Rob responded. All good, no worries mate. But reacting with “you’re twisting the words” is not cool. (It’s not just you, that was just the most egregious example of “you didn’t understand the joke”.) It makes Rob’s good apology “I’m sorry I CAUSED offense” into a non-apology “I’m sorry you TOOK offense”. It’s disappointing, because I’ve seen you (and Kitten) in various threads about racism and you both seemed very aware about racial issues in the American context. But I don’t think you’re listening here.
To an Aussie, it’s blindingly obvious that Indigenous drinking is a touchy subject and not something to be mentioned in a humorous context. Even when it’s not the point of the joke. It’s a political minefield. It’s like a white guy making a joke that mentions slavery or rape. Even if you honestly aren’t making the victims the butt of the joke, it’s almost certainly going to get misinterpreted and offend someone. I’m now getting the impression that Indigenous alcoholism is NOT an obvious taboo-zone to non-Australians. I am honestly shocked. I assumed it was something obvious and universally known (which I assume is the problem Brunswickstoval’s having). It just goes to show how racism looks different in different countries. But when Aussies are saying “whoa, that joke was insensitive”, non-Aussies should listen and try to understand where we’re coming from.
Doesn’t matter if he wasn’t aware of Australian history…
There was no need to insert black into his sentence.
I’m not particularly well informed to racial demographics for the land of Oz, however, I do know a large portion of blacks in Australia are indigenous—given the issues that plague our indigenous population in the states (no thanks to our government nonetheless)…
He should know better.
I’m glad he apologized but I’m still going to side eye the hell out of him.
I believe the current preferred term is for non indigenous people to say Indigenous Australian, not Aboriginal. I only say that because I’ve seen that mistake made a couple of times here.
I was taught that Aboriginal person (or Aboriginal art etc etc) is fine, but Aboriginal (by itself) is not. That’s actually for grammatical reasons. It’s an adjective not a noun. You wouldn’t say John is a happy or John is wearing a yellow. So you also can’t say John is an Aboriginal. But you can say John is an Aboriginal person.
Indigenous was out of favour back then (I’m thinking back to a cultural sensitivity course 15 years ago), but does seems to be gaining popularity. I don’t think there’s a clear front-runner for “most PC” choice yet, but perhaps I’m just out of touch?
Since we’re talking about it, you are definitely supposed to capitalise the “I” in Indigenous and the “A” in Aboriginal if you’re specifically referring to the Australian peoples. (Which you did, it’s just that some others haven’t.)
Was it good enough? He apologized. It was an insensitive joke that he apologized for.
Rob Thomas is one of the most thoughtful and caring musicians out there, with a huge heart. He does a lot for animal rescue groups, very passionate animal lover. His wife had to have brain surgery. They’ve been though a lot.
Should he wear a scarlet letter?
He’s extremely liberal, not that that means he can’t be racist, but I’ve been a fan for like 9 years- not so much now, but when I was a teenager and they were more current. He’s really, really sensitive, very empathetic- this was definitely a faux paux as he said.
This was hopelessly naive at best. You don’t need to know much about Australia to know how marginalised the indigenous population is. I believe that he didn’t mean to offend, but honestly.
To me he sounds disingenuous. His ‘joke’ only works because of existing stereotypes around race. He may not have understood the context within Australia (I’m Australian BTW) but nonetheless this is an unambiguously racist joke. Methinks he apologised because this blew up but I’m not in an overly forgiving mood.
I think you misunderstood the “joke.” As someone said above he used hyperbole to illustrate his levels of inebriation, that he became delusional about his ethnicity, skin color and finally gender and age. I get where he was trying to go but he really just shouldn’t have tried to make any jokes at all. I think his apology is sincere. I don’t think he (or we) can expect to know and understand all the stereotypes in every country we visit.
It’s offensive. If you don’t understand the stereotypes in every country you visit then make jokes about it.
@Esmom, ITA except I would replace the word ethnicity with nationality.
I agree, Esmom. I think you explained it very well.
Esmon, I had the same interpretation too. That’s why I think he didn’t mean to offend.
Why the hell did Thomas even attempt to make such a provocative joke at his concert?! People need to learn to stay in their lanes. He should’ve left that humor to comedians who know how to turn it into social commentary, and just sing his damn songs.
I lusted so hard for him circa late 90s.
OMG, he truly aged terribly, didn’t he? In the video for Smooth he did with Santana he looked so dreamy and sexy. I discovered my sexuality through those deep grey eyes.
Yeah, he’s walking sex in the Smooth video. It’s also a great song.
No I love him!!!!!
Its so hard being a black fan of whatever white person … I’m going to write them all off soon
I still love Rob 🙁
It doesn’t sound like there was any bad intent, just insensitivity/ignorance. But his apology and regret seem very sincere, and I think he learned from it.
Wasn’t he in recovery at one point? Why is he drinking so much?
People need to lighten up. I’m sure he meant no harm or mean intent or racism. Overreacting only perpetuates racism that already exists. Forgive him for his gaffe.
Outrage at something so trivial as this is to me a thinly veiled racism towards whites. There’s racism in every colour everywhere.
Oh Maggie…
Maggie – Well, take your own advice then and forgive everyone their “gaffes.” When you overreact, you’re only “perpetuating racism.” Oh, and “lighten up”!😀
Although it was a dumb and oblivious thing to say, I don’t think he meant it with any malice or racism. His apology sounds sincere and heartfelt.
A nice guy who made a stupid and offensive joke. Basically one of us.
I get what he meant and while it’s insensitive and a dumb joke I honestly don’t believe he knew about the link between alcoholism and Indigenous Australians. It’s complex issue I wouldn’t expect an outsider to really know about.
I’ve seen so many people from a certain country impose their country’s past upon us and be outraged when we weren’t outraged by the same things that they were. I don’t really want to judge him for not being familiar with our culture. Visiting Australia a few times as a celebrity isn’t going to expose you to Indigenous issues.