Do we like Jemaine Clement?
Our score: 8 out of 10. A clean record on the harm test and no court cases or allegations found, but the good deeds on file are thin.
Jemaine grew up in the Wairarapa in New Zealand, raised by his Māori mum and his kuia, with marae trips and family reunions part of the picture. Te reo wasn't a big part of his childhood, and he has been moved to tears on Māori Television describing how his grandmother's generation was hit at school for speaking it.
Most of the world knows him as half of Flight of the Conchords, the Wellington musical comedy duo with Bret McKenzie. In January 2026 they announced their first live show since 2018, part of the Netflix Is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles in May. Eight years between gigs and the fans still turned up.
Now the scandal section, which is mercifully short. My searches turned up no court cases, no lawsuits and no allegations against him in established news outlets. That doesn't prove a clean slate, but it's a rare thing to be able to say about someone in showbiz.
On the harm check, his own words point the right way. Speaking to Vulture's Good One in July 2026, he said comedians who call material mocking race or trans people edgy are missing the point, and that it's “just old-fashioned”. He also said New Zealand has largely avoided mocking whole groups of people. I found nothing from him on climate, vaccines or migrants either way.
That podcast chat was part of the press run for Disney's live-action Moana, where he reprises his voice role as Tamatoa, the giant crab. The remake got a lukewarm review from TheWrap's critic, but that's on the film, not on him.
On the good stuff, the record I could verify is modest. In 2012 the Conchords released a single, Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That), with proceeds going to New Zealand charity Cure Kids. That's honestly the whole list I could confirm, so he doesn't get top marks for a platform used for others.