Chris Lilley has embarked on a surprising new career move after his popular comedy shows were removed from Netflix.
The 50-year-old Australian comedian, known for his mockumentary-style series such as Summer Heights High and Angry Boys, has been away from the television spotlight for several years.
For the past eight months, he has focused his attention on a wildlife venture.
Now, Lilley has become a YouTuber, sharing videos of his wildlife encounters while traveling around Australia.
A recent video released this week shows the iconic comedian documenting close encounters with kangaroos.
Another video shows him swimming with gray nurse sharks, while an earlier video captures Lilley traveling to Tasmania in search of wombats.
Chris Lilley has embarked on a surprising new career change. Pictured: The comedian who plays Summer Heights High’s Mr. G
Lilley has become a YouTuber and shares videos of his wildlife encounters while traveling around Australia.
The Logie winner recently released her comeback project, Ja’miezing, a podcast based on her iconic schoolgirl character, Ja’mie King.
This comes after four of his TV shows were removed from Netflix due to concerns over ‘blackface’ depictions.
In July 2021, it was announced that Jonah from Tonga, Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, and We Can Be Heroes would be removed from Netflix in Australia and New Zealand.
The shows raised questions about racial discrimination, as several characters were depicted in black and brownface.
In Angry Boys, he played African-American rapper S.mouse and performed a song called Squashed N****.
In Jonah from Tonga, he painted his face brown and wore a curly wig to play troubled teenager Jonah Takalua.
In We Can Be Heroes, Lilley played Ricky Wong, a Chinese physics student.
A recent video released this week shows the iconic comedian documenting close encounters with kangaroos.
The Logie winner recently launched her comeback project Ja’miezing, a podcast based on her iconic schoolgirl character Ja’mie King, after four of her TV shows were removed from Netflix for ‘blackface’ depictions. Portrayed as Ja’mie King
Chris has defended his style of comedy, telling The Australian weekend in 2019: “I’m not trying to do what’s trendy right now.”
The award-winning comedian went on to say that he would continue to create “intelligent and layered” characters.
Defending his controversial portrayals, he added: “When you meet them, you think, ‘I know that kind of person,’ but then there’s a twist, something crazy.
“(At the) end you think, ‘Actually, I can relate to this, she just did what I do every day.'”