South African comedy troupe 'People Need Comedy' is facing intense backlash over a parody skit that mimics a fatal Uber hijacking.
Screenshot from the now-viral People Need Comedy skit (left to right: Thabiso Victor Mhlongo, Farieda Metsileng, and Tsitsi Chiumya). The parody, which dramatises a casual exchange between a victim and armed hijackers, has been condemned by South African influencers and hijacking survivors for making light of a deadly reality facing e-hailing drivers. Picture: Screenshot, Instagram
Fatal hijackings of e-hailing drivers are becoming more commonplace in South Africa. Some drivers install cameras in their vehicles as a security measure, and the footage captured on these cameras can serve as vital evidence for police when trying to catch the culprits.
In recent months, black-and-white footage from these robberies has gone viral as police search for the culprits, and one comedy troupe has decided to make light of the situation in a new skit that has drawn significant backlash.
The comedy skit in question is a recent parody, starring South African creators Farieda Metsileng (Pharoahfi), Thabiso Victor Mhlongo, and Tsitsi Chiumya, for the People Need Comedy (PNC) podcast.
The skit exaggerated the casual, almost conversational exchange between the victim and hijackers for dark humour. At the time of writing, the video had more than two million views on Instagram, over 2 600 comments and had been shared more than 1 400 times.
While there was a handful of supporters of the skit and its comedic value who dubbed it classic dark humour and “coping” in a country where crime is rampant, it mostly drew backlash.
Critics called it tasteless and insensitive, arguing that it downplays real trauma, violence, and loss, noting that many hijacking victims do not make it out alive.
Most of the skit’s detractors felt it was “distasteful” to turn crime into comedy fodder and questioned the need for the parody so soon after the event.
Model-turned-influencer K Naomi simply commented, “delete this”.
Fellow influencer Mimo Mokgosi wrote: “Someone’s trauma should never be treated as a joke or used for entertainment. What may seem funny to one person can be deeply painful and triggering to another.”
“I was so scared and concerned for you until I realised that this is not real. As someone [who] has been held at gunpoint, just for my phone to be taken, I do not find this funny at all. It’s the most traumatic thing to experience. Not something to joke about. We need to stop normalising and joking about traumatic experiences in South Africa. Humour may feel like a coping mechanism in the moment, but when we constantly turn pain, violence, crime and hardship into jokes, we risk becoming desensitised to the very real impact these experiences have on people and communities,” added Lisa Madibe.
Other controversies linked to Farieda’s comedy
Unlike the other comedians in the troupe, Farieda has faced at least one prior notable backlash tied directly to her comedy:
Around May 2025, she was heavily criticised for using/misusing sign language in a skit or bit as a joke tactic.
Media personality and disability advocate Uyanda Mbuli publicly slammed her, stating, “The deaf community is not your gimmick.”
Farieda later described this as her “first scandal” and “smear campaign”. She said she received intense backlash, including daily messages from the deaf community for about two months, which she said she found scary and bullying-like.
