Jo-Anne Reyneke Issues Statement Following Backlash Over Insensitive Video Towards The Deaf Community. The seasoned actress landed herself in hot water on social media after her latest video failed to impress her followers.
Whilst most of Joanne’s videos she shares on social media often leaves her fans in stitches, her latest attempt left a sour taste on many of her followers. The actress made a sign language interpreter video making fun of a situation which recently happened in America where an interpreter lied about their credentials. Jo-Anne said her video’s intention was to start a conversation and she’d light on how scammers who pose as interpreters often get away with it.
Read her full statement below.
I would like to clarify my position and the reason for making the sign language interpreter video which has been deemed offensive to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
I want to start by saying I am a firm supporter of the community and have worked as an artist with members of the community in shows such as Muvhango.
While I understand that as a community that has suffered a great deal of discrimination, the need for advocacy and education outside of the community is vital. It is rather unfortunate that my intention with the video has been misinterpreted. I was in fact not making fun of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing but rather shining a light on the disturbing trend of scam interprets being poorly vetted and ending up on television.
The timing of the video was just after an American interpreter had displayed flagrant disrespect to the community by pretending to have credentials and falsely interpreting on behalf of the police service. This unfortunate event also happened locally and trended for weeks in South Africa.
My view on comedy is that often it is a source of making critical socio-political commentary in a way that furthers the conversations amongst an audience that would otherwise not engage. By making the video the intention was to have audiences ask themselves why these scam artists have been allowed to penetrate official spaces. Also, to shine a light on the poor vetting process that allows for such unacceptable acts to occur.
As an art form, comedy has always helped to generate conversations about various forms of discrimination: gender bias and queer discrimination being among those that have critiqued through my platforms in the past.
I hope this statement clarifies my position and intentions. As a supporter of the community, I have taken the time to engage and not be dismissive of the potential offense the video may have caused to individuals who mistook its intention.
Sincerely yours Jo-anne Reyneke
