# Is This Song Racist/Offensive? (The Wiggles Pappadum Song) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839 "2020-10-25T16:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/1 "2020-10-25T16:31:17Z")
Here’s an earworm for you. You’re welcome. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RqSD5tV9FFw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Wiggles Pappadum (The wiggles are amazing, the best, I love them, I would eat squid for them)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqSD5tV9FFw) Apparently the idea of white Australians doing Bollywood dances while singing about pappadum is rubbing some people the wrong way. I have to admit that I was more amused than offended, until the cricket bat came out. Then I WTF’d. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/2 "2020-10-25T17:50:21Z")
That wasn’t singing _about_ pappadum. It was only singing “pappadum”. I found it to be rather stupid. The bit about the cricket bat seems to be because it was set in someone’s yard (is that still called _garden_ in Australia) and both Australia and India are seem to have a bit of a fondness for cricket. I wonder what the reaction today would be if [this bit from The Big Bang Theory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmKuAe5MgxM) had premiered today. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/3 "2020-10-25T18:39:19Z")
Why is the one woman who appears to be Indian not singing, but just holding a fixed smile on her face, while everyone else is singing? – apparently she’s not of Indian heritage either, just supposed to look like she is, and then rendered voiceless? Yeah, that part bothers me. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/4 "2020-10-25T18:44:33Z")
I’m having difficulty expressing my opinion in a manner that should not offend anybody. That video is too lame. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/5 "2020-10-25T18:56:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I wonder what the reaction today would be if [this bit from The Big Bang Theory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmKuAe5MgxM) had premiered today. I don’t recall that scene at all, but it appears that it is a fantasy that Raj is having? Given that the actor Kunal Nayyar is actually Indian, it probably gets a pass. But I don’t know. As to the Wiggles, that clip was so lame I’m not sure it could even rise to the level of being insulting. Mostly it seemed like an excuse to make a ditty using a very rhythmically please set of syllables. They should have skipped the fake Indian outfits and simply sung and danced their way through the song. That would have been marginally less idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/6 "2020-10-25T19:02:34Z")
I’ll bet if you made someone watch and listen to that for an hour they would go permanently and incurably insane. I almost lost it during the meager minute and twenty four seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/7 "2020-10-25T19:35:37Z")
FWIW, it’s because she’s not a Wiggle, she’s a dancer. I don’t think the dancers ever sing. I think it’s mildly unusual to have just one dancer in a song, but I think they do use the same ones in rotation. I used to know way more about the Wiggles than any adult human needs to know - not so much now that they’ve become more of a brand than a band. They used to be more ethnically representative too. But again - commercialisation. Branding. Blahblahblah… ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/8 "2020-10-25T19:49:51Z")
It’s all about context. If the video was preceded or followed by them dancing with a pizza while the same women wear dirndl and the guys wear a kilt - then sure it is funny. And as to Big Bang Theory, most of the episodes are racist. They show Stanford Grad student cafeteria in the Physics department and it is all white guys with a sprinkling of black guys. They have obviously never visited the same cafeteria in Stanford or white people find it hard to accept that most grad departments in Science/Engineering are filled with Asians. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/9 "2020-10-25T20:00:25Z")
It was almost too stupid to be offensive. Like I wouldn’t expect any level of social consciousness from the people involved in making this. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/10 "2020-10-25T20:03:58Z")
Needs more kimchi. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/11 "2020-10-25T20:10:53Z")
Well, it is pitched at three-year-olds. [Eg, typical show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ72_mLcNdM) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/12 "2020-10-25T20:19:19Z")
Wow, that was mind-numbing. The kids look so happy, though. > [@am77494](#): > > They have obviously never visited the same cafeteria in Stanford or white people find it hard to accept that most grad departments in Science/Engineering are filled with Asians. If they filled the cafeteria with Asians I’m sure they would get complaints for stereotyping. (Not a fan of the show, myself. It seems to thrive on stereotypes.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/13 "2020-10-25T20:55:37Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Wow, that was mind-numbing. Wasn’t it just!! I had a little look on the local mum-boards just to see what the buzz was, and it looks like “oh god that’s appalling please make it stop” was pretty much the consensus among those who cared to comment ever since it came out (about 6 years ago). But nobody payed any particular attention until … idk, someone important noticed? someone with a social media presence? Until then it was just lost in a sea of general inanity ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/14 "2020-10-25T23:13:54Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > FWIW, it’s because she’s not a Wiggle, she’s a dancer. I don’t think the dancers ever sing. Ah. Thanks for info. I had never heard of the Wiggles and there was nothing in the context to tell anyone unfamiliar with the group that she wasn’t part of it. That said: part of doing such things right is to consider what they look like to somebody coming from a different context. I doubt they thought about it at all, let alone thought ‘what would this look like to somebody who knows nothing about us’; but maybe they should do so in future. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/15 "2020-10-26T09:02:00Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > It’s all about context. If the video was preceded or followed by them dancing with a pizza while the same women wear dirndl and the guys wear a kilt - then sure it is funny. The Wiggles are/were a kids band. For pre-schoolers. Dancing with a pizza while wearing a kilt would be par for the course – 3 yr olds love that kind of thing. What would be odd would be if the Wiggles didn’t treat any guest or any ethnic group as a simplistic stereotype. It’s for pre-schoolers. Simplistic stereotypes (in melody, dance and costume) are complex enough to engage their audience. At one stage, they did a lot of stuff with other musicians. The other musicians weren’t insulted by playing down to kids – a lot of people have or have had kids of their own. I’ve seen stuff like that done as “humor” for adult audiences. That made me cringe. The stupidity and ignorance of the performers – the stupidity and ignorance of the audience. Some people don’t seem to advance much between 4 and 84. I’m much more tolerant of 4 yr olds – it’s fun watching them learn and evolve. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/16 "2020-10-26T09:16:08Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > FWIW, it’s because she’s not a Wiggle, she’s a dancer. So the other woman is a Wiggle, too? Interesting. When I first encountered the Wiggles, they were all male. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/17 "2020-10-26T09:52:54Z")
Yes, they’ve been replacing them as the originals got too old and creaky. Having a female Wiggle was a bit of a deliberate branding move and was a bit controversial … the others have been slotted in without anyone really noticing. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/18 "2020-10-26T12:00:18Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > The Wiggles are/were a kids band. For pre-schoolers. Dancing with a pizza while wearing a kilt would be par for the course – 3 yr olds love that kind of thing. It feels like you assumed I don’t know about wiggles. We had Wiggles of head-shoulders fame, Peppa Pig, Blues Clues and so on playing when our daughter was a toddler. Racial programming starts early with trivializing other cultures. Just because the audience is preschoolers is no excuse. Didn’t the Australian government ban some episode of Peppa pig (another preschooler show) where they were playing with spiders ? If preschoolers can be wrongly influenced about spiders, why can’t they be wrongly influenced about other cultures ? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/19 "2020-10-26T12:07:39Z")
Your understanding that item under question is a representation of an ‘other culture’ would be relevant in some other context. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839/20 "2020-10-26T15:54:49Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I don’t recall that scene at all, but it appears that it is a fantasy that Raj is having? Given that the actor Kunal Nayyar is actually Indian, it probably gets a pass. But I don’t know. Why would anyone care? It’s clearly a daydream that Raj is having- he’s Indian, and he’s daydreaming about a Bollywood song and dance number with Bernadette. I’d say if there’s nothing derogatory or mocking about something like this (which there was not), then no harm, no foul. Clearly the Wiggles were just making a nonsense song for very small children about a specific Indian dish, which I’m guessing must be somewhat popular in Australia. There’s no mockery or anything derogatory there. I mean, it’s no different than this- I don’t see any reason for anyone from Texas or any other Western state to be offended by this. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4hrapw3MqTw/hqdefault.jpg "We're The Cowboys - Cold Spaghetti Western The Wiggles") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hrapw3MqTw) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-song-racist-offensive-the-wiggles-pappadum-song/923839.md?page=2)