Every comedians worst fear has got to be, preparing a joke and relaying it only to have a room full of crickets?
But what about when the comedian makes a comedic video that goes viral in the worst kind of way?
Well local comedian Matewu Boza from Nelspruit, posted on his YouTube channel in November last year, of him and a friend making fun of a beggar in Mpumalanga. The video was recently re-posted on Twitter and left South Africans enraged about the “inhumane” treatment of the beggar.
In the video, the comedian and his friend can be seen sitting on a bench, with the beggar in the middle, as they recount the bad treatment of white South Africans towards black people during Apartheid.
The two pals talk about how good their pies are, though not giving any to a seemingly hungry beggar.
Matewu’s friend asks: “Did you notice that in the old days when white people used to eat burgers, we used to fear them to an extent that we would offer them serviettes to wipe their mouths?”
Matewu responds: “Here’s a white man who has no respect. We’re eating and he’s staring at us. In the old days, we never stared at them when they ate burgers, because they would say, ‘hey, you ka**ir’. Even if this white man stares at us, we won’t give him the burger,” to which his friend responds: “This is what we were taught by them.”
Oh, so you’re not laughing either? Interesting because the laugh track on socials was also experiencing technical difficulties. Here are a few reactions to the unpopular viral video.
Next time you think of going something like this think twice bhuda.🙇🏾♂️Not everything is about likes and retweets.
— Yanga (@Yanga_Luwalala) March 18, 2019
This hurt my soul. 😔How can you do such to another person?
In my opinion even if we experience the hurt doesn’t mean give it back,you can’t heal by inflicting pain.Simply treat others how you’d like to be treated. End of story. Do better.— Certified Lover Boy (@bvlcktiger) March 18, 2019
This is cruel.
— Bess, the Landlord’s Daughter. (@kanyejackson5) March 18, 2019
I honestly can’t take this video. Everyone knows the worst feeling is to be hungry and even worse when you can’t do anything about it. Blatantly doing this to any human being just shows how inhumane and pathetic you are. Imagine this happening to one of their family members !
— Miss Positivity ☀️ (@dontholdme2it_) March 19, 2019
In defence of his video, Boza said he had been friends with the man for a long time and that he asked for permission to shoot the video with him.
“We were just joking around,” he said, though his explanation still did not satisfy some on social media.
His original tweet seems to have been deleted.
What are your thoughts on the video? Not everything should be about likes and retweets. Where do we draw the line on boundaries? What’s funny and what’s just, simply disrespectful?
– ZAlebs