Neighbours star Coco-Jacinta Cherian says she quit acting due to racism and ... trends now
Former Neighbours star Coco-Jacinta Cherian has made shocking claims about her time on the show, claiming that she quit acting due to racism.
The 26-year-old ex-Australian actor, who now works for a refugee support organisation, shared evidence in court in support of Green's senator Mehreen Faruqi.
Senator Faruqi is suing Senator Pauline Hanson for $150,000 in damages over online comments the One Nation leader made in September 2022, telling Sen. Faruqi to 'p*** off back to Pakistan'.
Cherian, who appeared on the Channel Ten soap from 2012 to 2013 when she was 14 years old, claims she now has anxiety and depression due to racism she experienced during her time on the show.
'Once episodes I had acted in went to air, I recall seeing tweets which used words to the effect of "I should go back to where I came from", that I "didn't belong [on Neighbours]" and that Neighbours should only be using actors who were "real Australians",' she said in an affidavit filed with the court.
Former Neighbours star Coco-Jacinta Cherian (pictured) has made shocking claims about her time on the show, claiming that she quit acting due to racism
'I also started to hate my race and hate the part of me that is Indian.'
'I recall not liking my skin and not feeling comfortable in it. I also recall comparing myself to my peers on Neighbours and recall feeling very different from my co-stars who were white.
'I felt as though I was not as important or deserving of time on screen when compared to my co-stars, who were the typical, backyard cricket playing white Australians.'
Cherian played the role of Rani, the youngest member of the Kapoor family - who were the first-ever non-white family to move onto Ramsay Street as full-time cast members.
The 26-year-old ex-Australian actor, who now works for a refugee support organisation, shared evidence in court in support of Green's senator Mehreen Faruqi
Cherian (right) played the role of Rani, the youngest member of the Kapoor family - who were the first-ever non-white family to move onto Ramsay Street as full-time cast members
She also claims writers and producers on the show used 'Indian stereotypes in their portrayal of the Kapoor family'.
'As an Australian, I did not relate to the character and because of the hate I was seeing online, I wanted to move away from the character that I was playing (for example, celebrating Hindu traditions or wearing Saris),' the former actress said.
Cherian said she 'made the decision to quit acting in 2013' because of the racial stereotypes and the online bullying she saw while starring on Neighbours.
She also says she experienced racist remarks outside of acting and while working as a waitress in her late teens.
'I now suffer from anxiety and depression, which I believe is linked to these experiences,' she said.
Cherian said she 'made the decision to quit acting in 2013' because of the racial stereotypes and the online bullying she saw while starring on Neighbours. She also claims the writers and producers used 'Indian stereotypes in their portrayal of the Kapoor family'
Cherian came forward to give evidence after filling out an online survey set up last year to support Senator Faruqi's case against Senator Hanson.
Senator Faruqi is suing Senator Hanson over a comment she made on X (then Twitter) in September 2022, telling her to 'p*** off back to Pakistan' following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Greens deputy leader took to X to say she 'cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples'.
A five-day trial in the Federal Court began on Monday, April 29, in which Sen. Faruqi alleged Sen. Hanson had engaged in racial discrimination via her tweet.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi outside Federal Court this week replied 'no comment' when asked 'are all white people racist?'
She is suing Pauline Hanson (pictured with her lawyer Sue Chrysanthou) for $150,000 in damages over what she claims was a racist tweet aimed at her
Sen. Faruqi has accused Sen. Hanson of beaching section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act which prohibits acts that offend, insult or humiliate a person based on their race, ethnicity or nationality.
She told the Federal Court this week that verbal attacks on white people cannot be considered racist because the concept is 'tied to power' and that 'power ... is held by white people' in Australia.
'It is tied to who holds the power and who has the authority to perpetrate racism and oppress
