Duo’s ‘racist’ Instagram Taj & Maj videos

TWO KwaZulu-Natal businesswomen have come under fire for their “racist” videos on Instagram, poking fun at how Indians in South Africa speak.

When their intentions were questioned by several followers, the women, Mandy Gray and Tanya Stannisis, removed the offensive videos from their “Taj and Maj” Instagram account.

In the videos, the women wear fake moustaches and talk about the goings-on in their daily lives in a “typical Indian accent”.

The South African Desi on Instagram exposed the Taj and Maj account for their videos.

The administrator of the page wrote that it was “the most blatantly offensive mimicry of the Durban Indian community.

“The characters that you have created – Taj and Maj – are specifically designed to speak in a stereotypical Durban Indian accent; complete with slang that is peculiar to the diaspora.

“This offence is globally known as ‘black voice’ – when a white person deliberately mimics the accent of any community that have previously been the victims of racism: yes – this includes South African Indian people,” the post read.

“I was shocked that Taj and Maj have an entire account dedicated to their desperately unfunny (and inaccurate) mocking of Indians…

“I would like to believe that two quirky businesswomen living in the heart of KZN, could not possibly have created these characters to be blatantly disrespectful,” the post further read.

In a response to The South African Desi, “Taj and Maj” said they read the Desi post and “have taken it to heart”.

“We as Durban girls have a bunch of Indian friends, never meant to cause offence to anyone or race for that matter. We love everything about Indian people,” they said.

They acknowledge the videos were offensive and apologised for their actions.