Following comedian Josh Thomas’ call for Coon cheese to be renamed due to racist terms, he has since released an apology for his past casual racism.

Yesterday, Aussie comedian Josh Thomas called for a popular brand of tasty cheese to be renamed, citing that ‘Coon’ was widely used as “hate speech” towards Indigenous Australians

Poising the question, “are we still chill with this?,” Thomas noted that simply changing the name would “communicate [with Indigenous Australians] that we see them, understand their pain, and respect them.”

Shortly after Thomas called for the name change, fans were quick to point out casual racism that was spouted from the comedian during a writing panel which left other writers struggling for response.

From noting that there was difficulty in choosing an actor to portray a 7-Eleven worker: “Do you make them Indian? Or, is that offensive? Or, then if you make them white, is that a bit like you’re lying, really?”

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Soon after, another writer, Dan Harmon, talked about how they take on diversity by ensuring that they keep a diverse section of people in their writing room, to which Josh Thomas responded: “it’s easier in the states, I think,” which popped Harmon into a bit of an unsure place on how to respond.

Now, Thomas has issued an apology for his casual racism on that writers panel, saying “there is a clip circulating on Twitter of me on a panel a few years ago talking about diversity casting, and in it I am being a really dumb, illogical, insensitive idiot and it’s gross. I am super ashamed of the comments I made, and would like to apologise.”

He continues to note that when he makes Please Like Me, he always attempts to create diversity, but often falls short:

“Authentic diversity in casting (and behind the scenes) is something that is really important to me, and that has been important to me for a long time,” he stated.

“The conversation about why the casting process in Australia is structured to keep out people who aren’t white and straight, with symmetrical faces and no body fat percentage – is an important one to have, but the answers I offered in this clip are in no way constructive or correct.”

In a closing and bolded statement, Josh Thomas writes: “I am committed to doing better.”

Check out the apology from Josh Thomas:

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