Neighbours’ Sachin Joab says he was told his Australian character was being ‘sent back to India’

Australia’s longest-running TV drama Neighbours has been rocked by a string of racism allegations from former actors in recent days.  

Now, former Neighbours star Sachin Joab has come forward with his own on-set experience. 

Joab, who played Ajay Kapoor between 2011 and 2013, told The Herald Sun that he was horrified to learn that his Australian-born character Ajay Kapoor was being written out of the show and ‘sent back to India’.   

In the show, Ajay and his daughter Rani (Coco-Jacinta Cherin) decide to leave Ramsay Street and travel to India following the gruesome death of his wife Priya (Menik Gooneratne).  

‘I don’t think I’ll unfortunately ever forget… [being told]: ‘We’re sending Ajay and Rani back to India’,’ Joab told The Herald Sun on Monday. 

‘It was a double-hit for me because not only was I confused at finding out that we, as the only remaining actors of colour on the show are being written out, but … our characters were not from India. Our characters were both born and raised in Australia.’ 

Joab’s comments are the latest in a series of explosive claims about on-set racism that have been publicly levelled against Neighbours recently.  

Aboriginal actor Meyne Wyatt, who was a regular on Neighbours from 2014 to 2016, posted to Instagram multiple times over the past week claiming he experienced racism on set. 

‘It involved the c-word and I called that sh*t out and it didn’t happen around me again,’ Wyatt claimed. 

‘I did walk in on this incident in particular, so I have no doubt things were being said behind my back. I have too much experience to believe otherwise.’

He continued: ‘And it is disappointing, but not at all surprising, to hear that five years later racism continues to be present in that workplace. But what can you say, we are in Australia.’

Meanwhile, Neighbours actress Shareena Clanton penned a bombshell Instagram post on Tuesday alleging producers fostered a toxic workplace environment, labelling the soap a ‘culturally unsafe space’. 

Among several complaints, Clanton accused a staff member of making crude remarks and claimed she heard the N-word used on set twice, prompting production company Fremantle to bring in an Indigenous consultancy firm to carry out a review. 

Clanton, whose guest appearance on the soap is set to air this week, vowed to never work on Neighbours again after claiming her stint on Ramsay Street was marred by ‘multiple racist traumas’ which have required ongoing counselling. 

‘I’m struggling to post anything positive about the months I endured on Neighbours after multiple racist traumas and navigating ongoing counselling from this highly problematic show,’ she wrote on Instagram.

‘It’s been lonely, triggering and traumatising to work in such a culturally unsafe space.’

While she didn’t name specific staff members, Clanton listed several ‘racist’ and problematic incidents she apparently witnessed during filming.

She claimed: ‘A (staff member) thought it funny and appropriate to openly laugh at the word ‘c*m sl*t’ by a cast member who loudly spoke about ‘c*m’, ‘c*m’, ‘c*m’ in front of other cast and crew. 

‘Due to my insistence of engaging a Wurundjeri Elder to be included for ongoing cultural safety reasons like cultural protocols followed and debriefing, I was told ‘this is not a film production, Shareena’ and that ‘we simply don’t have the budget’.

‘The humble few hundred dollars a week Aunty and I proposed was in contrast to the thousands of dollars actors were receiving each pay. I paid Aunty directly out of my own income to make up for this lack of budget.’

She continued: ‘A senior staff member openly laughed whilst using the term ‘slave driver’ in reference to him ‘working hard’. My management at the time didn’t help as they endorsed/encouraged this ‘office banter’. I fired the agent.

‘Overt and covert levels of racism were rife, often disguised as ‘jokes’, like a white actress openly calling another actress of colour a ‘lil’ monkey’.’

‘Twice I endured the N-word openly being used on-set and in the green room. I was even told to ‘go somewhere else’ by staff when confronting the actor directly because I was making others ‘uncomfortable’.

‘A white actress openly laughed at the racist N-word to only lie about laughing about it when questioned by HR. She said that I ‘misconstrued’ what she was ‘laughing at’ and that she was laughing at ‘something else’. That is a blatant lie.

‘The retaliation for calling out this misconduct and racism often left me ostracised and further marginalised. What was meant to (be an) HR follow-up (to) discuss this led to them saying they were unsure of ‘what else they could do’.’ 

On Saturday, fellow former Neighbours star Sharon Johal added her voice to the outcry, sharing an Instagram Stories post revealing her mental health has been affected by the backlash. 

She wrote: ‘I can’t pretend everything is ‘normal’ and keep going about my life like nothing has happened. This week has been purely and utterly mentally and emotionally exhausting. 

 

‘Whilst I’m supporting both publicly and privately, and even though there’s much you don’t know about my own personal trauma, I can’t even imagine what they are going through. 

‘My own mental health is in the bin. I’m having to handle it. To preserve it I’ve also had to take a break from social media/online after seeing the vile vitriol and backlash out there much of which these brave souls have had to experience. 

‘Yet it’s inescapable. It’s everywhere. Indigenous Australians and people of colour/ diverse background don’t ‘get to’ escape racism. We don’t have that privilege’. 

In a statement, Chris Oliver-Taylor, CEO of Neighbours’ production company Fremantle Asia Pacific, said: ‘all complaints are taken seriously and we are investigating all allegations fairly’. 

‘Fremantle is committed to providing an environment where employees and others in the workplace are treated fairly and with respect, and are free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and bullying,’ Mr Oliver-Taylor said.

‘We do not tolerate behaviour that does not align to our Anti-Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Harassment and Bullying Policy and take all complaints very seriously, investigating all allegations fairly and thoroughly.’

Fremantle has asked Campfire X, creative leaders in Indigenous Cultural Protocols, to ‘conduct an independent review of Neighbours and the production process’.