John Safran | |
|---|---|
 Safran at the 2009Melbourne International Film Festival | |
| Born | John Michael Safran (1972-08-13)13 August 1972 (age 52) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | Yehoshua Safran (Hebrew:יְהוֹשֻׁעַ ספרן) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Known for | |
| Notable work | Murder in Mississippi |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Margaret (sister) |
| Website | www |
John Michael Safran (Hebrew:יְהוֹשֻׁעַ ספרן, Yehoshua Safran; born 13 August 1972)[1] is an Australian radio personality, satirist, documentary maker and author, known for combining humour with religious, political and ethnic issues. First gaining fame appearing inRace Around the World in 1997, Safran went on to produce a series of documentaries, television shows and host radio programs.
Safran is known for his television stunts, which include placing afatwa on Australian television hostRove McManus, sneaking nine young men into an exclusiveMelbourne nightclub by disguising them as members of Americannu metal bandSlipknot, running throughJerusalem wearing nothing but the beanie and scarf ofSt Kilda Football Club, driving a remote-controlled seagull with a cigarette onto theMelbourne Cricket Ground, and his confrontation withA Current Affair hostRay Martin.
He currently works as ajournalist andauthor. He released his latest book,Squat, in October 2024.
Safran was born inMelbourne to Jewish parents.[2] His maternal grandparents werePolish JewishBundists.[3] Safran's mother, Gitl, was born inUzbekistan as they were fleeing their home country for Australia.[4] She died in 2003.[5] His paternal ancestors wereGerman Jews and left shortly before the rise ofNazi Germany.[6] He has one older sister, Margaret.
He grew up inBalwyn North and attended North Balwyn Primary School,Balwyn High School andYeshivah College from Year 8 onwards.[3][5] He describes himself at Yeshivah, an all-boys Orthodox Jewish school, as being "the least religious kid in the most religious school in Australia".[2]
After school he studied journalism atRMIT University. He eventually dropped out without completing his degree and began work in advertising for Clemenger Harvie. During this time he also worked as a copywriter forMazda,Village Roadshow andSea World, where he wrote the company's jingle.[7]
During his final year in high school, Safran formed the hip-hop groupRaspberry Cordial with his friend Chris Lumsden. They played to some success, receiving high rotation airplay on the city's community radio, playing many gigs in Melbourne and coming second in theRMITBattle of the Bands competition.[citation needed]
After winning a government youth music initiative, they followed up withTaste Test, of which 500 copies were pressed. Of those only 93 sold, so the remaining 407 had to be crushed. He said that the world just "wasn't ready for white rappers then" and Raspberry Cordial "broke down the wall that Eminem's been able to walk through", referencing the well-known Caucasian rapperEminem and his success in an industry predominantly African-American.[8]
Safran's first experience of national fame came viaRace Around the World, a television competition for youngdocumentarians run by theABC. In his audition tape, Safran was required to submit ten seconds of black, but instead he submitted ten seconds ofBlack Sabbath.[9]
Safran started the race off timid and tame, being locked inside anOsaka subway station in his first entry. However, he quickly broke what he called the "fear barrier" to film his now famous segments. He ranstreaking naked through the streets ofJerusalem wearing only the scarf and beanie of his favourite football club,St Kilda, to prove that God is Jewish (St Kilda's only Grand Final win fell on the same day asYom Kippur).[8] He was baptised and placed aVoodoo curse on his ex-girlfriend in theIvory Coast.[8] He sneaked intoDisneyland via a work area and attached information plaques he made about founderWalt Disney to a display (highlighting little-known Disney "facts" such as Walt Disney's alleged early support forAdolf Hitler) and got a Catholic priest to reviewdeath metal music.[citation needed]
Safran's segments scored well with both the judges and the public audience, Safran topped the viewer poll. He was, however, disqualified for a segment taped in aconfessional booth (the program forbadehidden camera footage); the disqualification of the segment and subsequent loss of points meant that he finished last in the first season ofRace Around the World.[citation needed]
After this brush with fame, theABC commissioned two 30-minute TV pilots from Safran.[citation needed]
One pilot calledJohn Safran: Media Tycoon focused on the media industry, airing in 1998. It became famous for a segment involvingRay Martin, then host of tabloid current affairs TV showA Current Affair, where Safran harassed him in the style characteristic ofA Current Affair by sorting through his bin, which was later satirised by comedianShaun Micallef. Martin had set up members of the Paxton family. Safran and one of the victims, Shane Paxton, turned up to Martin's home. Martin and his wife Dianne physically threatened Safran.[8] Martin's wife ripped apart Safran'spapier mâché hat and Ray grabbed Safran by the collar, prompting Shane Paxton to intervene. Martin was in contact with the ABC and specifically warned Safran in the segment that he had spoken to Roger Grant, who was then Head of Corporate Affairs at the ABC.[10] Martin's connection with this executive at the ABC is suspected to be a reason the series never made it to air. The Ray Martin segment was later played onMedia Watch,John Safran: The Lost Pilot and on YouTube.[10] In 2014, Martin still appeared bitter about the incident, calling Safran a "serial pest".[10]
The second pilot was titledJohn Safran: Master Chef. This pilot focused on the food industry. Notably, it featured a cooking segment where Safran prepared a beef dish. The twist comes when he arrives at an abattoir and shows detailed footage of cows being slaughtered to complete the dish.[11] Though all unsuccessful, the pilots became hits via the Internet among university students.[12] Safran also recorded a parody ofBaz Luhrmann's song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" entitled "Not the Sunscreen Song", which includes lines such as "Never live inAdelaide, it's a hole" and "Remember, you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex". It peaked at No. 20 in 1998 and was nominated for anARIA. InTriple M's2005 Greatest Songs Ever Written and Performed Since the Beginning of Time poll, "Not the Sunscreen Song" came in at #706 – one spot above "Superstition" byStevie Wonder.[13]
Safran also presented segments for theSeven Network's now defunctThe Late Report, some were also screened in the United Kingdom withChannel 4'sDisinformation program. Safran attained police attention for a stunt to try and coercecricketerShane Warne into breaking a "no smoking" clause in an advertising contract with a nicotine gum manufacturer. Safran drove a remote controlled seagull with a cigarette onto the MCG pitch during a match. He was arrested for "pitch invasion", but the charges were dropped.[8]
In 2002, Safran launched his documentary seriesJohn Safran's Music Jamboree. On one occasion Safran and his crew stormed the courtyard of his former school and amid shocked religious students and teachers, he and his crew began to dance to the song "Footloose". He was also able to gain entry into an exclusive Melbourne night club by dressing up nine men as the bandSlipknot.[14] Screened onSBS on Saturday nights, it opened Safran's work to youth 12 to 20 years old, who had not seen the originalRace Around the World material. The show won theAFI award in 2003 for "Best Comedy Series".[15]
In August 2004 he debuted his new showJohn Safran vs God, also on the SBS television network. The first seven episodes were typical Safran informative satire. The series' finale featured Safran beingexorcised of demons which had supposedlypossessed him during his dabblings with world religions. The exorcism was performed by well-known Christian fundamentalistBob Larson. In an interview with an Australian radio personality, Safran said that he "felt something was going on", and that "there was something about the expression on my face". In an interview onAndrew Denton'sEnough Rope program, he claimed that he had no memory of the events during the exorcism, and stated that the footage shown on the show was merely the most interesting from hours of footage.John Safran vs God won a 2005AFI Award for "Best Comedy Series".[16]
Before the exorcism, Safran went toMozambique to have a curse, previously placed on theAustralian national football team by a now-deceased witch doctor, lifted. He and former Australian football team captainJohnny Warren were covered in chicken's blood in the process. Subsequently, on 16 November 2005,Australia qualified for theWorld Cup for the first time since 1974.[17]
In 2005 and 2006, Safran co-hosted a television talk show entitledSpeaking in Tongues withFather Bob Maguire, a Catholic priest who was featured inJohn Safran vs God. The 12-part series broadcast onSBS Television and began on 7 November 2005.[18]
Safran spent portions of 2007 in Los Angeles shooting a pilot entitledJohn Safran Saves America for American MTV in which he tried to convinceemos to fight in Iraq, visited therapists who claim they can cure people of racism, and attempted to become gay to increase his standing in Hollywood.[19] Safran stated in an interview that he had not heard back from the production companyReveille Productions whether the program has been purchased for production or not but as time went by, "the answer isn't getting any yesser".[20]
In 2009John Safran's Race Relations, an eight-part comedy documentary television series, was picked up by theABC.[21] As part of this series, on 10 April 2009, John Safran took part in adevotional crucifixion, anannual event occurring onGood Friday in the Philippines. Safran was crucified in Barangay Kapitangan,Paombong, Bulacan, just outside Manila along with three other men and one woman.[22] He had nails driven through his hands and feet and hung on the cross for five minutes before being taken down and given medical treatment in a nearby tent set up for the purpose.[23] It was nominated for a 2010Logie Award in the category of Light Entertainment.[citation needed]
As of 2002[update], Safran had been a regular host of Melbournecommunity radio station3RRR (Triple R) on its morning show "Breakfasters".[24] Additionally, he co-hosted the weekly radio showSunday Night Safran on national youth radio stationTriple J withFather Bob Maguire. After a lengthy hiatus late 2008 due to a busy filming schedule,Sunday Night Safran returned to the airwaves on 12 July 2009.[25] The program ended at the end of 2015.[26]
The program was iconic because the co-hosts talked to each other for much longer than instructed to (one such incident involved Fr Bob and Safran looking up the wordmonstrance in a dictionary following a dispute) and referring to the audience as "Dear Listeners".[27] By Safran's own admission, Maguire and he "only seem to talk about Scrabble and White Supremacists".[28]
During the program's run, Safran and Maguire were able to get interviews from people such as religious scholarReza Aslan,Julian Assange's mother Christine,The Exorcist starLinda Blair, philosopher andSchool of Life founderAlain de Botton, writer, retired prison doctor and psychiatristTheodore Dalrymple, West Memphis ThreeDamien Echols, antitheistChristopher Hitchens, conspiracy theoristDavid Icke, former white supremacist skinheadFrank Meeink, pro-euthanasia doctorPhilip Nitschke,The Act of Killing directorJoshua Oppenheimer, journalist and writerJon Ronson, true crime writer andTed Bundy co-workerAnn Rule, the LizardmanErik Sprague, African-American pro-Israel political activist and ZionistChloé Valdary, Jewish activist against child sexual abuseManny Waks, psychicLisa Williams and John Safran's dad, Alex.[29]
After discovering that a subject of his seriesRace Relations, "Mississippi's most notorious white supremacist"[30]Richard Barrett had been murdered, Safran returned to Mississippi to cover the trial. In 2013Penguin Books published Safran's memoir of his experiences on this trip,Murder in Mississippi (published asGod'll Cut You Down in the US). In 2014 he received aNed Kelly Award for Best True Crime for the book.[31] Safran writes for a number of newspapers, including theSydney Morning Herald[32] andVice News.[33]
Safran has also written a book aboutextremism in Australia, titledDepends What You Mean By Extremist. It was published in May 2017.[34]
His investigation into Big Tobacco,Puff Piece was published in August 2021. It was shortlisted for the 2022Prime Minister's Literary Award for Nonfiction.[35]
His bookSquat, released in October 2024, describes his experience squatting in a Los Angeles mansion owned byKanye West.[36]
Safran's favourite board game isScrabble. However, he prefers to play one-on-one compared with four or more players, as he considers that a one-on-one game is a "game of skill" instead of a "game of luck".[37] He also owns all the comprehensiveScrabble dictionaries.[37] Furthermore, Safran has aScrabble Rug, aScrabble board costume,Michael Groves Special Edition Scrabble, HebrewScrabble, CD-RomScrabble, KeyringScrabble and aScrabble watch.[33]
John Safran was painted byYvette Coppersmith and entered in the 2009Archibald Prize. The painting was a finalist.[38] A portrait by Avraham Vofsi titledJohn Safran as David and Goliath was a finalist in the2022 Archibald Prize.[39]
Safran has stated that he believes in a force or unifying spirit, and has some "supernatural beliefs".[40] He went on to explain that he doesn't think "these things have to be absolutely true to sort of be invigorating". Furthermore, he thinks mysticism is "a bit like trying to see how long you can hold your breath underwater or like driving without a seatbelt and it’s just like it’s fun. Like so basically religion is a bit like – trying to ban religion is like trying to ban snowboarding or something. It’s just like the rituals are just – can be really fun".[40] He thinks that organised religion "gets a pretty good break in Australia", as they don't have to pay as much tax and are allowed to preach against homosexuals.[40]
Safran publicly stated that religious education should be allowed in schools, and disagrees that it is manipulation.[40]
It’s like saying if you’re going to listen to heavy metal albums you’re going to go on shooting sprees. It’s not like having a chaplain in your school like it’s the only influence that’s going to be on the kid. [...] You’re just going to jump into strange people, so you bump into the chaplain and he’s teaching you all that strange stuff and then, I don’t know, you grow up and then you’ve got these cool stories about the mad chaplain at your school.[40]
Safran's first date was with a girl called Meg whom he was doing work experience with at theAustralian Jewish News in Year 10. They sawIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade together.[4] At university he began a relationship with a Bolivian girl, but it ended because Safran was "obsessed with [his] creative work", and at 19 Safran did not want the relationship to turn into something more serious.[4]
Safran dated playwrightLally Katz.
| Date first published | Title | Publisher information | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2013 | Murder in Mississippi (Published asGod'll Cut You Down in the US) | Hamish Hamilton, paperback,ISBN 1-92642-846-3 | Awarded the 2014Ned Kelly Award for True Crime[31] |
| 1 May 2017 | Depends What You Mean By Extremist | Hamish Hamilton, paperback,ISBN 978-1-92-642877-2 | [34] |
| 31 August 2021 | Puff Piece | Hamish Hamilton, paperback,ISBN 978-1-76-089015-5 | [41] |
| 22 October 2024 | Squat | Penguin, paperback,ISBN 978-1-76-089017-9 | [42] |
| Year | Title | Functioned as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Producer | Host | Actor | Notes | ||
| 1997 | Race Around the World | No | No | No | Yes | Racer |
| 1998 | John Safran: Master Chef | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 1998 | John Safran: Media Tycoon | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 1999 | The Late Report | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 2000 | The Big Schmooze | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2002 | Music Jamboree | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Won 2003AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series |
| 2004 | John Safran vs God | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Won 2005AACTA Award for Best Television Comedy Series |
| 2004 | Medusa: First Date (Short) | No | No | No | Yes | Parrot |
| 2004 | Dentally Disturbed (Short) | No | No | No | Yes | Radio DJ |
| 2005 | Webster Say (Short) | No | No | No | Yes | Slacks man |
| 2005-2006 | Speaking in Tongues | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | Professor Pebbles | No | No | No | Yes | Voice |
| 2009 | John Safran's Race Relations | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2011 | Jedis & Juggalos: Your Census Guide | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2011 | The Bazura Project | No | No | No | Yes | Lee's father |
| 2012 | Cedric & Hope (Short) | No | No | No | Yes | Lemming |
| 2013 | In Bob We Trust | No | No | No | Yes | Himself[43] |
| 2016 | The Goddam Election! | No | No | Yes | No | [44] |
| 2022 | King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow's "My Own Reality" Re-Write Music Video) | No | No | No | Yes | Dancer |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [45][46] | |||||
| Melbourne Tram | 1991 | — | Melbourne Tram[47] | ||
| "There's No Kangaroos in My Backyard" | — | ||||
| "Let's Play Matchbox Cars" | — | ||||
| "University Elevator Music" | 1993 | — | Taste Test[47] | ||
| "Not the Sunscreen Song" | 1997 | 20 | |||
| "Jew Town"[48] | 2002 | — | non-album single | ||
| "Some Bobby That I Used to Know" (feat.Bob Maguire)[49] | 2012 | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
