Actor Meyne Wyatt performed a powerful monologue addressing racism and life as an Indigenous Australian on last night’s Q&A. The speech originally appeared in Wyatt’s play, ‘City of Gold’, which premiered in 2019.

“I’m always going to be your black friend, aren’t I?”, Wyatt’s monologue began.

“That’s all anybody ever sees. I’m never just an actor, I’m always an Indigenous actor. Hey, I love rep’ing, but I don’t hear old Joe Bloggs over here being called ‘White Anglo-Saxon actor blah-de-blah.”

“I hate being a token, a box to tick, part of some diversity angle,” he continued.

Wyatt went on to address white privilege, and the inequality between white and Indigenous Australians. He also detailed the experiences of former AFL footballer, Adam Goodes, who faced a barrage of criticism after calling out a racist fan in 2013.

“Ask the brother boy Adam Goodes. A kid says some racist shit, not ignorant, racist,” he continued.

“He taught that kid a lesson. But did they like that? A black man standing up for himself? Nah they didn’t like that.”

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Wyatt’s monologue has garnered praise on social media today, with comedian Nazeem Hussain calling it “the best two minutes of Australian TV ever”. 

Lucy Turnbull, TV personality Julia Zemiro and actor Scott McGregor were among those who applauded Wyatt’s monologue.

At time of writing, the monologue had been shared over 15,000 times on Facebook in the 20 hours since it was uploaded.

Meyne Wyatt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2010. Since then, he has enjoyed a prolific and successful career on both stage and screen. He appeared in the 2012 hit film The Sapphires and in the TV series Redfern Now and Neighbours. Wyatt’s theatre credits include productions with Bell Shakespeare and the Sydney Theatre Company.

Check out Meyne Wyatt’s monologue from ‘City of Gold’, performed on Q&A:

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