If it weren’t for us [Ethiopians], you would be asleep right now.Joe White, Comedian
Aditya Gautam
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land I'm recording from. I pay my respect to the Cammaraygal people and their elders, past and present. I also acknowledge the traditional owners from all Aboriginal and Torres State Islander lands. You're listening from coming up in this
episode.
Joe White
You know, you don't speak the language so you sort of feel like you're in the way because you can't communicate properly. So then you try to make up for it by smiling, smiling a lot more, by bowing, by going, you know. Offering food, whatever, you know, to try. And show, hey, I'm a good person. Let
me stay here, please, you know. And then mum pretty much had to look after six kids all by herself. And then, we applied for humanitarian visa and, we made it out to Perth as refugees in 98. When I was 11, I'd get up and I'd be like, would you like my seat? And they'll go, this is weird. What do you
want? I'm like, nothing, please. I've just been taught, you know, you have to offer your seat to people older than you. Also, you know, more than me, Mr. Old Person.
Aditya Gautam
Hello, everybody. Welcome to Comedy Karma Season 2. I'm, Aditya Gautam, your host. In this podcast, I interview comedians from all over the world who now live and perform comedy in Australia. In today's episode, I'm going to talk to Joe White. He's one of my favourite comedians in Australia. He is
prolific. He's been performing comedy shows all over the country, all over the world. He has won multiple, multiple awards. The Fringe World Comedy, Choice Awards. He's performed for audience members, 2,500 people at the Opera House. He's, he's done all sorts of things. he's was one of the first
Ethiopian background comedian to, to sell out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. And yeah, let's, we're going to talk to him about all sorts of things. It'll be awesome. Let's start the show with one of his jokes.
Joe White
What's your Highland. Highland, yeah. Ethiopian. Ethiopian. You go like, he's looking around like. We're very proud, Ethiopians, aren't we? We are, yes. You know, we've never been colonised. We're the only African country that's never been colonised, you know, so, yeah. Four people clapping. That
ain't something we're proud of. My. We discovered. Coffee? Yes. So if it wasn't for us, you'd be asleep, right?
Aditya Gautam
Never colonise. Honestly, a lot of people don't know that. I think, Even I did not know that till I heard this joke of yours, that, Ethiopia was the only country that wasn't colonised. It's. Does it. Is it like. I'm sure there's a good and bad side to it. Bad side being you can't relate to anyone
else.
Joe White
I don't think we need to. There's like 110 million people there and we have, I think I read, somewhere over 400 dialects in Ethiopia. and the way we're set up, we're so different, man. It's like if Adelaide spoke a different language and had different culture and showcased different things on tv
compared to Melbourne and. And, you know, WA and Sydney. All different cultures, different languages, different stuff on tv, like, It's like their own little countries all together. You know what I mean? So we have.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, I think I can. I can relate to that, being from India, because India has that, India is crazy diverse like that too, man. It's like every. Every state within states, they have different languages and every state has a different freaking dialect. Different tv, different shows. Oh, wow. It's.
It's almost that crazy. Yeah.
Joe White
And that sort of makes it a bit challenging for everyone to get along because, you know, that's when tribal differences get in the way.
Aditya Gautam
That's again. That's again relatable as an Indian because, very hard to get people to get along. But. I know this sounds blasphemous, but, you know, what helped was the fact that England occupied the whole thing and our hate for England united us. All the different tribes were like, screw these
people
Joe White
If you don't get along. We're going to send you all to your rooms. Okay? Wow. No, we had, We had Italy, occupy us for five years. yeah. And then, with the help of, England and some Western powers, we were able to kick them out. but you can see some of their, Like some of their influence still left
behind. I'm always fascinated with. Because in Italian you say when you're leaving, you say chao bella Yeah. Yeah. Well, in Amharic we say chao belu Ah. So, like, there's little similarities like that. And I'm always curious, I'm like, maybe that's the Italian influence that was left behind.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, true. It's, it's also, ah, coffee. This I knew because I, I. This I knew because I heard this podcast, a couple of years back about cough. About the history of coffee. And in that I found out that it was. It was discovered in Utopia. it was. You know, one thing I did not know for most of my
life was that tea not Indian.
Joe White
Tea is not Indian. Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
Apparently it's also from somewhere in Africa.
Joe White
What?
Joe White
Yeah, I thought it was Indian my whole life.
Joe White
I grew up with Dilma. You remember that ad?
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, of course.
Joe White
What a voice.
Aditya Gautam
Dilma wasn't that popular in India.
Joe White
Was in Perth. We had,
Aditya Gautam
Which one was the most popular for us? English breakfast.
Joe White
Right after your coloniser.
Joe White
Which one?
Aditya Gautam
Have you heard of this brand called Taj?
Joe White
Taj.
Aditya Gautam
It's like Taj Mahal.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
So we have this tea brand named after Taj.
Joe White
Okay.
Aditya Gautam
Which is so popular. It's one of the most popular tea brands in India.
Joe White
Sold here in the West.
Aditya Gautam
I'm not sure. I guess not. Maybe not.
Joe White
If you haven't heard of Win.
Joe White
It's the way the guy says it's,
Aditya Gautam
You go back to Ethiopia much?
Joe White
No, I've never been to Ethiopia.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, do you intend to?
Joe White
Yes.
Aditya Gautam
When you got any plans?
Joe White
End of this year is my goal. Oh, yeah.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, how come? Why this year?
Joe White
I think it just. I can't say. I can't. You can't fully. I mean, you can fully claim Ethiopia even if you haven't been there. But I think going there and, you know, stepping foot on the land, meeting the people, seeing the land with your own eyes, engaging and interacting with it, I think that really
helps your identity. Strengthens my identity. So that's what I want. Because a lot of us, born in the west, you know, we grow up in the west and yes, our parents, you know, do their best to try and, you know, teach us our culture so that we don't forget and we're still connected to it and I'm still
connected to my culture, but, you know, I can't, I can't really say 100%. My identity in my Ethiopian is very strong yet. And so I think going there and connecting with it, meeting the people, you know, I know the language, but, like, Just improving it, all that helps with, you know, one of the 400.
Yeah. You know, two of the 400, you know, so it's like strengthening my identity is a big part of why I want to go.
Aditya Gautam
Okay, fair. but why, why this year, though, is like something, made you want to go this year more than, like, ever before in the future? Like, is it all led to.
Joe White
I've just left it too long?
Aditya Gautam
Okay.
Joe White
That's the. I just need to get it done, you know, and I've left it too long. but for me, I would love to go on my 10th year comedy anniversary. which is at the end of this year, I believe.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, that would be beautiful.
Joe White
So, that's the, that's the other thing behind that as well.
Aditya Gautam
That's beautiful. how did your parents end up here? Like, what's the story?
Joe White
so mum and dad left Ethiopia for Sudan in the 80s during the civil war. and then they had us at a refugee camp in Sudan. And then dad left, the family when I was about 5, 4, 5 years old. And then mum pretty much had to look after 6 kids all by herself. And then, we applied for humanitarian visa and,
we made it out to Perth as refugees in 98 when I was 11.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, that's.
Joe White
Yeah, that's.
Aditya Gautam
That's you. You're fairly old, man. 11 is like, you have pretty decent memories and your foundational memories in Sudan then.
Joe White
Oh, yeah, 100%. And a lot of people go, Ah, now you're 11. Like, look at my 11 year old. He's just playing games and on YouTube. And I'm like, that's a very different 11 year old to an 11 year old from that side of the world, you know, 100%. Look, when we were, me and my brother, we were. Because
we're a year and a half apart to two. Two years to a year and a half. When we were, you know, 9 or. And he's 11, we would buy, like, we would go out and make money. And the way we would do that is we would buy like a packet of cigarette or lots of plastic bags and we'll go out and we'll sell them
individually to people. You know what I mean? You know that hustle. Yeah. And then they will give us the money and then we would go and give mum the surplus. And then we will use whatever was left to go and buy another packet and another pack of, plastics and plastic bags and we'll go do the same
thing. And so that's how we contributed to try and get, give mum enough money so that she can get food. That's us at that age. You know, we're entrepreneurs already. And you had to be careful. You had to be street smart. Of course, I couldn't imagine my nephew doing that. My nephew is just
constantly on YouTube and, you know, wants to play Fortnite and all that.
Aditya Gautam
It's hard for someone who's grown up here to ever be able to relate to that. You know what I mean? It's like the hustle, like just the level of what. What you feel is hustle. Be so different to someone who's grown up. Like, their definition of what it.
Joe White
It definitely puts you ahead of, your peers here, a lot of them. But there is some people born here who are just freakishly motivated by something, you know, like maybe fame or money or, they've got a loved one that's, like, struggling and, you know, medically, and they need money for that. And
their work ethic is, you know, incredible. And, they'll give you a go for your money for sure. But, the ones that come from the background we come from, you know, like, yeah, the work ethic is unmatchable.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, it's interesting. okay, I'm gonna play the second joke.
Joe White
Melbourne is nice, man. This is how I knew you were a nice city. Because I was walking around and I was in the way of a cyclist. He didn't even use the bell on the bike. That's how nice you guys are, right? Instead he just goes, "bike!" That's it. The bell is there to let me know. Get out of the
way. I could hit you. Instead he decided, no, it was too loud, that he was going to harmonise this beautiful tone. "Bike!" I was confused. Being from Perth, I was confused. I jumped out of the way. I was like, "sorry, mate." He goes, "that's okay, buddy. Have a lovely day." You would never hear that
in Perth. If that was Perth, all you'd hear is, move out of the way, followed by, "hey, that's my bike."
Aditya Gautam
I was watching this video, I was reading the comments, and, there's a comment of guys saying, hey, man, stop making fun of Perth.
Joe White
But it's always the case, you know, we take the piss out of the place we love the most or the people we love the most.
Joe White
Yeah. And Perth is home for me, you know, so, of course, that's my goat. That's what I know. So I take the piss out of that.
Aditya Gautam
how was it growing up in Perth? Like, I. Especially at that age coming and being in this city.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
Which is, apparently the most secluded city on the planet. That's what they say. Like the nearest other cities so freaking far.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
How was it? How was the experience?
Joe White
Perth was nice. I would retire in Perth, to be honest, because you just know where everything is and you know, where everyone is, where the hangouts are. It's like familiar spot, you know what I mean? but growing up, like when I. When we first migrated to Perth, like, you just. Just imagine coming
over, on a plane and you look down because we landed at night and so we look down and it's all, like, shining lights, you know, it almost looked like the stars had fallen. And they're just like we're above them now and was beautiful. And we landed and, you know, there was people waiting for us and
they took us to, our first house ever. We've never had a house. Right, and then this is your house. And they took us to the lounge room and, you know, there's. I saw this bowl of apples in the lounge room and it just. It took me back to when I was, you know, seven, eight years old. And, we used to
be street kids, right? We lived on the streets, for like a year or two. And I'd walk up and down and I'd see this guy trying to sell, apples on a cart. And I could never afford them. And they were like, you know, $0.01 or whatever, but I could never afford them. So when we landed in Perth and they
took us to the lounge room and I saw the bowl of apples, I was just like, holy shit. I was like, we're loaded. Look at all these apples. I grabbed the ball, I just bloody. Ran to the room. And then all my siblings chased me. And I would just give them one for you, one for you, two for me, one for
you.
Aditya Gautam
you're the oldest one?
Joe White
No, I'm the middle. So I got a twin. There's six of us, so I got two above me. so that's when we knew we made it. So Perth, all these beautiful memories is linked to Perth, you know, so that's why it's my favourite place. and then growing up there, you know, there wasn't many, Africans in Perth when
we first arrived in 98. Not like Melbourne. Right. And also hardly anyone spoke the language. You know, we spoke Arabic as our main language because we were born in Sudan.
Aditya Gautam
Sure.
Joe White
But we learned Amharic from my mum, which is an Ethiopian language, and Tigrinya from my dad, which is Also an Ethiopian language. But Arabic was like, our English now. Right. So when we landed, we spoke Arabic. No one around us spoke Arabic. So we had to learn English from, like.
Aditya Gautam
Did you know a little bit?
Joe White
No. From scratch.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, dude, that's crazy.
Joe White
Yeah. So when we communicated with people for the first year or so, it's just smiles and nods and just trying to work out what they. What they're trying to say, you know? especially, like, for my mum was hard because she had to go to the shops and she had to buy stuff. And for us, we could stay home
and not have to leave our house, you know, just talk to each other. But mum obviously would take us with her because our English would start to be a little bit better than hers because we're constantly around our peers and school and stuff, where she's with her community all the time, so they just
speak their language. and I tell this story on stage where we go to the shops and then she buys all this stuff. And then she wanted a plastic bag. But in Arabic, a plastic bag is "kiss."
Joe White
You can't write these. It writes itself. It's like a plastic bag is kiss. So then she'll go, okay, please, give me kiss. Right. And the guy would be like, "what?"
Aditya Gautam
Are you serious? That's. That almost sounds made up. That's so brilliant. Oh, wow.
Joe White
Asian shopkeeper is like, no. She's like, "yes, give me a kiss."
Aditya Gautam
No,
Joe White
"I want kiss." And they just go back and forth.
Aditya Gautam
No.
Joe White
And eventually you tell her what it is. Eventually you tell her what it is. And she's like, "oh, no." Because she's a religious woman as well.
Aditya Gautam
Oh, man.
Joe White
so she's like, "I'm mortified. Not going out for a week." So all these little challenges. yeah. So we had to navigate the English language. Yeah. So it was a different battle. And it wasn't poverty.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
You know, because for us, where we were, we were wealthy now, but it was more so the English language now. So Perth is. Yeah. Every. Every single memory.
Aditya Gautam
Was it. Was it. Was it, this. Because you had so many challenges to overcome? First few years, did it overall felt welcoming or did it felt hostile? How did it feel for you personally the first few years of,
Joe White
The first few years? Definitely hostile.
Joe White
Okay.
Joe White
Yeah, yeah, very hostile. Because everyone looks different to you. You know, they've let you in. As far as you're concerned, this is the land of the people that you're seeing that look nothing like you. So you're like, okay. So they've let me in, This seems pretty nice. They've. I've got a house.
Let's. Let me not stuff this up.
Aditya Gautam
Sure. You're feeling a bit of gratitude? Grateful to them?
Joe White
Ah, more. More like fear, because a, fear of getting sent back.
Joe White
I better not stuff this up because otherwise I'm going to be back in Sudan going, "I can't afford an apple anymore. I had a bowl of apples. Now they're gone." You know, so it's like first year. Or two, you're sort of like, oh, hey, you know, trying to do the right thing and. And not be in the way.
And, you know, you don't speak the language, so you sort of feel like you're in the way because you can't communicate properly. So then you try to make up for it by smiling a lot more by bowing, by going, offering food. Whatever, you know, to try and show. "Hey, I'm a good person. Let me stay here,
please." You know, so it was definitely hostile the first year. and then the second year, you sort of start to go, okay, you know, let me enjoy being here. What do I do now? You know? And one thing we loved was playing soccer. So we'd grab a soccer ball, we'd go down to our nearest park to play
soccer. Right. Guess who's doing that? Every other refugee out there as well, that love soccer, you know. So the soccer park we went to had all the. Had all the other immigrants, had, you know, immigrants from many different backgrounds. Croatia, Serbia, Africa, like, from everywhere. Asia. Right.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
we all love soccer, so there were no Indians there because Indians love cricket. So it was all just Africans, Croatians and Asians. Right? And we'd, you know, play soccer and would get to know each other, and we would all, like, grow up together. and that was our go to. Now, that spot.
Aditya Gautam
That's so interesting. That's be. That's a beautiful thing about sport, isn't it? How it brings people together. It's almost magical how sport can do that. Yeah, you don't need the language. You don't need anything.
Joe White
So we started playing soccer and we all just became one big group. And all of a sudden you've made friends, and none of you can speak each other's language, so you're forced to speak English, you know, or try to speak English. And so your English improves, all because. Of this game, you know,
Aditya Gautam
that's so interesting. So I, again, nothing as, as intense as this, but I had an experience sort of connected to English was. So I grew up in, Like, I was born in this town right next to Delhi. It's called Noida. it's right next to Delhi. It's almost considered part of Delhi. That's how close it is.
and growing up there, we only spoke in Hindi at home. Even in our school, we would only speak in Hindi.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
But when I was in my first standard, which was, you're six years old or whatever, first grade, we. My dad got posted to a town in South India. And in South India, they don't speak Hindi. Again, every state has their own language. Right. So this particular state has Its own language. And the school I
went to, again, the only language I could speak was English, which they would understand. And I did not know any English. So I have this clear memory of my first day in that classroom. I'm not understanding anything anyone is saying because either they're speaking in their language or English, and
I'm not understanding either of them. And I really want to pee and I'm not sure what to do. And I'm holding it because I'm embarrassed because I don't know how to ask someone where the toilet is. Eventually get so bad that I walk up to the teacher with almost tears in my eyes. And I'm looking at her
and she's like, what do you want? Or whatever she. And I. I'm not. And then I just go, this. I don't know. Does that work in. Would that work in Sudan as well? Like as a.
Joe White
That just sounds like you're confessing to something. not wanting to pee
Aditya Gautam
This is the symbol of. I. I want to pee in a lot of India. I don't know.
Joe White
Yeah, it is really.
Aditya Gautam
It is really.
Joe White
Wow.
Joe White
It's so funny.
Joe White
It's so funny.
Aditya Gautam
And she's like, oh, you want to go to the toilet? And then she takes me there.
Joe White
Yeah, that's, so funny. No, in. In Sudan, we usually.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
Get our penises out and pee. That's how we show we wanted to pee Oh, wow. I didn't know that.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, I guess I was confessing to how small it is.
Joe White
yeah, well, you know, with the English language, like, we went to a school in Perth called Perth Modern School, which is an intensive language centre. So it's where all the immigrants go when, you know, they can't speak the language and they're going to learn the language. Okay. So we went there and
I remember in my class, we used to have the most loveliest, amazing teacher. You know, when you're at your most vulnerable, it's so good to have someone who's loving, caring, that's leading the class. And that was her, Mrs. Hines, you know, when she was leaving, I was, like, crying. I bought flowers
and just, like, gave. Her five bucks with the flowers. I got roasted for, like, a whole year after that. But, one of my mates, we're still mates now in the classroom, he would say something like, we're all stuck with our work. And he would say something, and all of a sudden, his work, like, she
would come over and help him with his work, and he's done and we're all just waiting, you know, to get help. And I was always mesmerised by this word, you know, And I'm like, this guy, man, he's just, you know, he's so smart. He's smarter than all of us because his English is so good. Obviously,
whatever. He didn't speak. He only knew one word. And this word would just get the. Teacher to come over and just help him, right? And he would always go, miss, I'm confused. And she would come over and she would do his work for him. Even when I tried to pronounce the word, I couldn't, right? I'm
just like, wow. And now, like, every time I see him, now I go, man, you were just the most confused kid in school. You know,
Aditya Gautam
that's such a great word to know as your. One of your first words.
Joe White
Oh, my Lord, I'm confused. It got all his work sorted for him, you know.
Aditya Gautam
Also, how's the. Do you feel there's a difference in the audience when you're performing, like, in these different parts of m. Australia, or is it similar in.
Joe White
Oh, yeah, the audiences are very different in Melbourne. Ah. And Sydney compared to Perth, for sure. They're a bit more tamed on this side. Perth is just like, "give us all your racist stuff. That's what we want." And you're like, "yeah, I don't want to do that."
Aditya Gautam
How did. Did that impact the way you developed your comedy then? Because you did. You just developed most of it in Perth and then you came here. Did you have to change things?
Joe White
not really, man. Because I always wrote clean anyways. Well, not clean, but I always just wrote, what I consider to be funny. And a lot of the time, the way we survived, long before I was a comedian, the way we survived, our traumas was through laughter, right? And I was the person in the family
that would make everyone laugh, you know, everyone just knew we didn't have TV or anything. But we Said, hey, let's just sit down. Joe will get started and we'll start teasing each other and we'll be funny about it, you know. And so I used to always roast my older brother and he hated it. By the
time I was done, you know, I'd be running to mum because he wants to kill me now, you know, but we would laugh so much. So comedy was a way, ah, that we was a tool that we used to sort of minimise, you know, the tough times.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
and a lot of the comedy was self deprecating humour. It wasn't story, oh, a little bit of storytelling but more observation on mum's behaviour.
Aditya Gautam
Sure.
Joe White
So roasting, roasting was a big one. Yeah. Roasting the family was a massive one. Yeah. and also roasting myself was a big one. So when I started doing stand up, a lot of it was roasting myself and roasting my family.
Aditya Gautam
Sure.
Joe White
But not in a way where like I'm punching way down because it's my family. I love them. I don't want them to be disrespected.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
But like we all have members in our family that irritate us. Yeah. And so you could see yourself in my shoes. Yeah. And it was done. And you know, it was done from a place of love, but it was funny because it was frustrating me, you know, so.
Aditya Gautam
So that thing just, just translated easily to any other part of Australia that you performed in.
Joe White
Yeah, it just, it translated really easy. I think if anything, it's just made me the more different style of audiences you perform to, the more it brings out of you in terms of a performer. And so then, you know, you start to realise, hey, what I learned to do in Melbourne, I can actually
incorporate into my Perth, performances and vice versa. And it just makes you this overall very mature performer. the material has always been very international, so you can take it interstate or overseas.
Aditya Gautam
Was that intentional? It just happened.
Joe White
It was intentional. Oh, okay. Yeah. I think when I, when I was first being, taught on, because I went to Australian Stand up School of comedy by Dante, this is when I first started.
Aditya Gautam
Okay.
Joe White
which was in Perth in Melbourne. So I flew over to do a one week course. Okay. And he said, look, if you want to write for TV and radio, you got to write clean from now at a later stage. If you want to write dirty, that's fine. It's easier to do that. But if you start dirty, it's harder to switch to
clean. So I always wrote clean because I always wanted to write for TV and radio.
Aditya Gautam
That's such a great tip that, every single comedian should be getting in their earlier years. It's such an important tip, isn't it? Because you see so many new comedians just going really dirty. And even I had so many dirty jokes in the beginning. And now I'm, And now I'm trying to become more and
more clean because I'm realising not it's not just about writing for TV or anything of that sort. I think it's just clean comedy is harder to do. It makes you a better comedian.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
You know what I mean?
Joe White
Yeah.
Joe White
100. You know, where Aussie humour is different and we grew up here, so our. My humour reflects more with Aussie humour because it's always like, oh, mate, she'll be right. You know, no one's perfect. Just take the piss out of yourself and your mates. And, you know, whatever. Whatever you take the
piss out of, it means you love it. You know where Ethiopians were like, no, no, don't make fun of something we're proud of. Or, you know, don't make fun of us. Make fun of others we're perfect.
Aditya Gautam
That's funny. It's, I'm doing this, this show that I'm doing right now at the festival. At the end, I make. I sort of do a parody of the Australian national anthem. And I do that and everybody laughs. And at the end, I say this. I was like, I would not be able to do this in India. I would get
arrested, probably get beaten up and arrested if I made fun of the Indian. Indian national anthem. But Australians, you're cool with it. And I love that about Australia. I honestly love that about Australia.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
That you can make fun of anything and they're cool with it.
Joe White
Yeah, it's push the boundaries.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
That's how you create magic, you know, when there's no limitations and there's no fear. Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
Awesome. All right, we play the third joke.
Joe White
Which is that my mum will force feed them, right? She does this, like, every time they come over, I'm like, listen, Matt, when you do come over, my mom's. Gonna force feed you. Okay? So have you eaten or not? He'll say, mate, I've eaten already. But don't worry, I'll just say no. And I'm like, no,
you can't. You can't say no. Because if you go to an ethnic person's house and they try to feed you and you say no, it's rude. And if you say yes and you don't finish it. It's also rude if you do finish it and you don't eat more. That's also rude. The only way out is to just die in front of them.
That's the only way out.
Aditya Gautam
I don't think, especially in this video, it gets the response it deserves. Because when I was listening, I was connecting so deeply with me. Because that's exactly how Indian households are. And I've faced that all my life. I've. They're. They're legit. There are relatives whose house I will not go
to. Yeah. because it's painful. Because they will force feed you so much.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
and it gets, like, it almost gets annoying. It's like, I don't want, like, I'm done, man. My stomach hurts. But they'll, they'll make it such a weird deal about. You have to.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
And it's so, it's so ridiculous, but it is so common. And how was it, for you after bringing friends home? Like, obviously you give one example of this in this joke, but how was it bringing friends, like white friends, yeah.
Joe White
Home. It was the best man. Especially, like, because we understand to what degree our parents will be like, eat, eat, eat, eat. You know? And so we're mentally prepared for it. We know how far we can push it. Right. But also we know how to manipulate it so that it works for us in our favour. You
know what I mean? And I'll give you a perfect example. Like, after school, I used to always go to KFC with my buddy, you know? And so we'd sit there, would eat the burger. you know, we roast each other. Sometimes I'd win, sometimes he'd win. And then this one particular time, he won in roasting me,
right? And we were walking, and I was like, I gotta get him back before, before this is over, you know? And so I said, oh, okay, so why don't you come over? So then we went over, right? Because I know mom's gonna force feed him, right? So I said, "why don't you come over and just hang out for a
bit?" He goes, "yeah, all right." Remember, we're full. We just finished having, you know, the Zinger burger. like Pepsi or Cokes. And you know how filled up you get once you have all that soft drink. So we go back to, back to mine. And we're sitting there in the lounge room and we're full, we're
burping. That's how full we are, right? And I was like, it's time to strike. So I called my mum over my language. I said, "hey, mum my, friend is actually starving, but he doesn't want to ask you because he's shy, you know, and he doesn't feel comfortable. So. Yeah, but he's really hungry." And then
my mom's like, "don't worry, I'll go get food and then I'll feed him." So she goes and whips, you know, like a nice meal, brings that out. And she would lots of "eat, eat, eat, eat." He's like, "I'm so. I don't want to eat. I'm so full." She's like, "eat, eat" He's like "can you tell your mum you
know?" And I was like, yeah, I'll tell her. And then in the language, I'll say, "he's really hungry. He's just been polite," you know, he never came back again.
Aditya Gautam
Are, ah, there any other, like, Ethiopian or Sudanese cultural quirks that you also have in your personality? other than this, like, you have to feed people when they come to your house. Any other quirks?
Joe White
Quirks? not really, man. But I'm super polite when I see all people, you know, like, if I'm sitting down and an old person comes around me, I'd get up and I'd be like, "would you like my seat?" And they'll go, "this is weird. What do you want?" I'm like, "nothing, please." I've just been taught, you
know, you have to offer your seat to people older than you also, you know, more than me. M. Mr. M. Old person. Even though they have no idea what's going on.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, yeah. that's funny. That's again, very similar to how it would be in India. Too It's a. It's a respect thing. You should be offering it.
Joe White
Yeah, yeah. But also it's like, now, you know, there's so many cultural things that we've been taught, to believe and we've been taught in how to behave. It's not necessarily benefiting us or it's not really how we should be behaving, you know, and that's where self education takes place, and that's
where critical thinking takes place. And I think, you know, our parents worked hard, sacrificed a lot, risked their lives to bring us to a place where we have access to information and technology to be able to critically think right. Much better than they did so that we can make a much more informed
decision. And one of those is, you know, I respect all people. Yes. But I'm also aware m. There is some old people that you should stay away from and not take their advice.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
You know, and. And there's many things in that aspect in our culture. Hey, we're actually, you know, when you're hungry, say no. It's like, no. If you're hungry, say yes. Yeah. You know. Yeah. if someone. If you go out, dinner with someone and it's time to pay, you know, not everyone's going to be
as hospitable as you. Some people are going to, on purpose be like, "oh, I know his weakness. He's going to pay. I'm just gonna pretend to offer, but I know it's his. It's in his DNA where he's gonna pay." So I'll go and order expensive stuff. Like, that's not fair behaviour, you know, so then it's
like you'd go out and you'd use your own judgement and you'd go, we'll split the bill.
Aditya Gautam
Dude, I've suffered so much because of this. Yeah. Bit of ours. Again, it's a very common Indian quirk that you. You pay for it.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
You know, you try to pay for everything. Like, that's just how it is. If you're going out, you pay for it.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
And it's like, again, coming here, firstly, it's just not that expensive. Things like eating out in India. So it's not that big a deal if you're paying for something like eating out. here, it's a bigger deal because eating out is expensive. And. And it's okay to split. In my head, it took me years
to become okay with this idea.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
That I can talk about this openly without feeling weird and guilty. That. Okay, let's split it.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
I think I still kind of feel weird and guilty someplace.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
In my head.
Joe White
Yes.
Aditya Gautam
Talking about it. It feels just weird. And it shouldn't. Like you said.
Joe White
Yeah. And also, you know, there's a, Buddhist saying where they explain that when you pay, you're actually more selfish than the person that's offered to pay that you said no to. Because what you're doing is you're robbing them of that good feeling. You know? So when you pay, you Feel good and they
feel small. Yeah. And so, you know, you should let them pay.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, no, I. I think I agree.
Joe White
this is what I told myself. So I never have to pay.
Aditya Gautam
No, I think, I think I. I totally agree with it.
Joe White
All right.
Aditya Gautam
They're the third joke, dude.
Joe White
California was fun, though. I walked around, I didn't feel safe. I, I wanted to see it. And so I got on the Hollywood Bus tour. I don't know if you guys have done that when you went to America. and something amazing happened. You know, everyone on the bus is. Coupled up except me, and the Americans.
Are very loud, man. This guy, he gets to me and he just like, Joe by himself. I was like, yeah, lower your voice. He drops us off in Santa Monica Boulevard. And something amazing happened. And that's why I like to tell this story. I got recognised in Santa Monica Boulevard. These two lovely ladies
came up to me and they're like, "excuse me, are you Joe from Australia?" And I was like, "oh, my God, yes, it's me. Have you seen my work in Australia?" And they said, "no, we're on the same tour bus. You're making us late. Hurry up."
Aditya Gautam
How was it to perform in America?
Joe White
It was amazing, man. Different world, you know, because you're in the green room with Dane Cook, Chris d'. Elia, Russell Peters. Max Amini
Aditya Gautam
Hung out with Russell Peters.
Joe White
I haven't hung out with him, but they're in the green room. I've met Russell, though. I've taken pictures with him. I met him.
Aditya Gautam
You know, we Indian. Freaking all of us. Any Indian who's over 30.
Joe White
Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
Our first ever stand up show or special was Russell Peters. All of us. You ask any Indian comedian over 30 years old, and you ask them was the first time you saw Stand Up. All of them will tell you Russell Peters.
Joe White
Yeah. And. And the same for me as well. And then after that, I just went down a rabbit hole of comedy, which was Def Jam Comedy. Yeah. Peters was the original.
Aditya Gautam
Is it, if you had to, compare it to America.
Aditya Gautam
Do you. Do you want to do more? Comedy in America is like. So it seems like, like, at some point, all comedians aspired to move to America. Is that something you aspire to do as well?
Joe White
I mean, bigger risk, bigger reward. Yeah. So that's what I want to do. I want to take bigger risks. So I want to go out there and perform. and then if there's opportunities there that require me to stay there, then I'll definitely move the family. Why not? but just all the great seem to be over
there. So, you know, I've got mates from there that have gone there and they've blown up. You know, they've got Netflix specials and doing amazing things. So that's what I want for me as well.
Aditya Gautam
Sure. So America is on the horizon, maybe.
Joe White
Hopefully, after Trump, after Ethiopia.
Aditya Gautam
is it. Do you get recognised in Australia? Because you've. You've done so many shows now with so many audiences. Like, Did you get recognised much?
Joe White
yeah, man. Like, I get recognised in Altona quite a bit.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
Because we've got a fortnightly comedy room. In Altona, and mainly, yeah, every two weeks we have, like, over 100 people. There and it's mainly people from that area that come.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah.
Joe White
And so sometimes I'll be at the coffee shop, I'd be doing a run to Kohl's, or I'd be leaving the gym and people go, hey, hey. Or I'll be at the gym. They go, hey, Joe. And I'll be like, "hey, guys. which. Where do you know me from? They're like, oh, the comedy room. Like, oh, nice."
Aditya Gautam
Where do you know me from? From the tour bus.
Joe White
Crime stoppers? No, also, when I did the TV show Hunted, that. That got me. Like, I remember I was walking home, after the gym and this teenager was driving and he literally ran me over across quickly, and then he just did a quick turn and he's like, excuse me, are you Joe White from Hunted? I go,
yeah. And he goes, oh, my God, you. Do live in Altona. I was like, "yeah, I do. And he goes," oh, he just kept staring at me in the middle of the road. And he goes, "I'm spun out, man." And I was like, this Guy's probably like, 20, 22, you know? So I just went, "yeah, it's all right, man." I said,
yeah, look, if every two weeks you can find me at the alternative sports club, blah, blah, blah. And he goes, oh, all right, man. Oh, this is spun out, man. And he kept driving. And then, like five hours later in the evening, I was outside just, like, watering my lawn or whatever. And then this kid
is walking his dog past and he just sees me again. And I'm like, oh, we, have this standoff. Like, how are you finding me twice in one day when I've never seen you before? And he goes, "oh, you live here." I go, "yeah, but don't tell people." And he goes, "no, I won't tell anyone. I swear I won't
tell anyone." And I was like, "okay, bye." And he goes, "bye."
Aditya Gautam
That's so funny.
Aditya Gautam
Yeah, thanks. Thanks a lot.
Aditya Gautam
That's, really great talking to you. I always wanted to talk to you about these topics, because again, I've met you so many times in different festivals and different times, but never got a chance to ask you these questions. always wanted to. Yeah.
Joe White
You've been a busy boy as well. I've been busy as well. So we've just been. Yeah.
Aditya Gautam
so whenever it comes out, like, what is your social media handles and where can people like, look it up and look at it jokes, I would really recommend people who are listening to the audio look at, get those jokes because you wear such fancy jackets in most of these jokes. you're a good looking guy.
Joe White
Thank you, man. This has been the best grinder date I've been on. It's my first interracial grinder date. But, yeah, no, I'm a bit more leaning toward Hawaiian shirts now, I think because I'm about to crack 40. Relax. I'm ready for a cruise ship with your kids.
Aditya Gautam
Drool on it.
Joe White
But, my social handles, if they. Just Google Joe White comedian, then all my details and social, handles will pop up. at the time, I guess I'll be touring with Comedy Cartel. We do shows, we're doing shows all around Australia. Myself, Joe Avadi, Tahia George Kapiniaris Sashi Pereira and Ting Lim.
So, yeah, come see us in one of those shows, Comedy Cartel.
Aditya Gautam
Awesome, man. Thank you so much for doing this.
Joe White
Thanks so much for having me.
Aditya Gautam
That was Joe White, everybody. All right, thank you everybody. That was Comedy Karma with Joe White. I hope you had fun. go check out more of his comedy, more of his shows. He's always out there performing in every city. Wherever you are, I'm sure you'll get to see him live. It's, it's, it's a
special experience seeing him live. so I would recommend going, doing that and that go, see other, other episodes of this season. We've got comedians from all over the world, who I'm interviewing. So check him out. Thank you. I was Aditya Gautam. Thank you.
Aditya Gautam
Comedy Karma is an SBS original podcast. It was created and produced by me, Aditya Gautam, with editing help from Tarun Tyagi. I would like to give a huge thanks to the SBS teams at the Melbourne and Sydney offices and to Joel Supple for her guidance. You can find Comedy Karma on SBS or on any other
platform where you get your podcasts. Go listen to more episodes and listen. Do more jokes. Go do it.
