Nazeem Hussain: Australian comedian on tacking race, politics, faith, culture, and more as a person of colour | Exclusive Interview

From absolute rookies to the world’s biggest stars, getting “cancelled” is the fear that levels them all.

A single wrong word or gesture can risk their entire livelihood, with careers built for decades going down the drain due to a simple error.

But this is a risk Aussie comedian Nazeem Hussain has had to reckon with from the beginning of his career.

Watch the video above

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“I’ve been ‘cancelled’ or ‘threatened to be cancelled’ since I started comedy. And I started comedy talking about racism and the shit that pisses me off, so I’ve never really changed,” he tells 9honey.

First taking to the scene in the late 2000s, the 40-year-old’s comedy has always revolved around topics others didn’t dare to explore.

His creations include Logie-nominated comedy shows Legally Brown and Salam Café, as well as the star-studded Orange is the New Brown, all of which were renowned for their daring takes about race, culture, faith, and politics – not often seen on Australian TV.

It was precisely the things that set him apart that helped him quickly become one of Australian comedy’s most prominent voices. 

Critics may believe it’s all an act, done to provoke a reaction. But the Melbourne-based comedian says he’s simply telling the story of his life. 

His latest comedy show, You Paid For This, explores how he is now a dad-of-three and is juggling his parental responsibilities with that of being a “professional clown”.

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As he recounts the hilarious happenings, he often brings up his race, faith, culture, and other aspects of his life that audiences may find polarising – something Nazeem finds absurd.

“Sometimes people say to me, ‘Why do you always talk about race? I’m like, ‘Well, every white comedian talks about their life from a white perspective. What? I’m not allowed to talk about my life from my perspective?'” 

He often uses his own experiences as a jumping point to talk about societal issues, but he has since discovered there is a fine line that needs to be tread between making fun of your own culture and pointing out the broader injustices of the world. 

“It’s a sort of expectation that if you’re [from] a community of colour, the only ethnic jokes you make are about your own culture and your own upbringing. It’s all purely self-deprecating,” he says, explaining the unspoken rule.

“But as soon as you point the finger the other way, because you make jokes about everybody, including white people, then suddenly they’re like, ‘Know your place, mate.’

“It’s never said both ways.

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“There is this sort of unspoken expectation – sometimes very much spoken – that comedians of colour need to understand their place in this society,” Nazeem says. 

The critics’ perspective is often that he’s welcome to “do those Indian accent jokes about your parents, but not anything about our culture. ‘Don’t critique us. Otherwise, go back to where you came from.'” 

Tipping the scales too far one way can cause audiences to turn against you, but that’s never something Nazeem has been afraid of.

He has tackled topics other comedians don’t dare to go near, such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine as he advocates to free Gaza.

“I always thought it was a very Aussie thing to shit on your own government, let alone some other foreign government,” he remarks. 

“Isn’t that the role of a comedian? To just call out bullshit in front of you? To state the elephant in the room? 

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“I just don’t know how to not say the things that are on my brain. And I’ve always found the funniest stuff for me is when I’m angry. That’s when the audience seems to react the most. 

“I think I’m just doing my job.”

He’s not the only one carrying the torch. The comic says he’s glad to see so many up-and-coming Aussie comedians say their piece on social media, where they are gaining an audience far beyond our borders for their “no bullshit” and “fearless” takes.

While performing in traditional settings asks for “a lot of compromise that has to be made on the artist,” social media allows for a democratised platform where “audiences are now deciding what they want to watch and who they want to support and who deserves their attention”, he says.

“I think for artists of colour, it’s almost like this is coming into a time when, when we can start to be more authentically ourselves and not dial down the parts of our personality or the aspects of our upbringing that’s palatable enough for Australia.”

“I feel like being a comedian is sometimes a bit of a survival mechanism, you know?” he remarks, “It’s kind of how you deal with challenging things in your life.”

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