Racially insensitive or harmless humour? Leon Schuster’s ‘Mr Bones 3’ splits social media

A trailer for Leon Schuster’s slapstick comedy Mr Bones 3: Son of Bones has received mixed reactions online. 

The film, set to be released on April 15, 2022, stars Schuster and his long-time right-hand man Alfred Ntombela, Tumi Morake, Jerry Mofokeng, Jay Anstey and Wandile Molebatsi.

The latest film in the series follows Mr Bones’ quest to find a treasure that could make him and his son millionaires.

The original movie was released in 2001 and has, over the years, been the subject of controversy. Schuster, who plays Mr Bones in the film, was accused of cultural appropriation.

Last year streaming service Showmax removed several Shuster films, including Mr Bones and its sequel, as part of its efforts to take down perceived racist content on its platform.

This was after other streaming services, including Netflix, announced they were carefully curating a “list of titles that only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and blackness in America”.

Head of communication for Showmax Richard Boorman said Schuster’s films were removed due to possibly being racially insensitive.

Shuster told Sowetan at the time he was “very disappointed” by the decision and did not see the reason behind it.

“I try to bring people together with laughter. There is no race in my heart. I don’t see black, white, pink or purple. I just see a person. If they are in my region when I do candid camera I go for whoever it is. I don’t have preference for one race.

“There has never been racism in any of the stuff I’ve done. My heart is that of a living and loving South African.”

In a 2018 Sunday Times interview, the filmmaker was unapologetic about playing on every racial stereotype in his films but said he would avoid blackface in his future films. 

“On Twitter, they said stay away from the blackface. It is not on. It was black people talking to me and you’ve got to listen,” he said.

“I can’t do it because I’ll be heavily criticised. In the old days, it troubled nobody. But I won’t go blackface now. There’s not one actor in the world who will. It’s just racist.”

Taking to social media, users expressed different opinions about the new movie with the same antics and style of comedy.

Here is a snapshot of what many had to say: