By any measure, Jason Mendonca is not easy to box in.
Online, thousands know him as Goblet Nation — raw, funny, spiritual, political, controversial and deeply human. Offline, he’s a 40-year-old Guyanese-born British citizen who has lived several lives: comedian, migrant, former street worker, spiritual seeker and, whether he likes the word or not, an influencer.
“I make people laugh. I speak how I see things,” Mendonca says plainly in an interview with the News Room on Thursday in Georgetown. “If you go left, I go right. That’s just me.”
That refusal to soften his edges has made him both beloved and criticised across Guyana, London and the wider Caribbean diaspora. But behind the shock value and unapologetic delivery is a man deeply aware of his impact and his responsibility.
Mendonca hesitates when asked to describe himself. “Content creator” comes first, before he laughs and admits, “Yes, I’m an influencer too.”
But labels aren’t what drive him. His platform shifts daily, comedy one morning, politics the next, spirituality threaded throughout. “I’m never the same,” he says. “It depends how I wake up.”
That unpredictability is part of the appeal. It’s also what draws people into his inbox.
“Every single day people message me asking for advice,” he explains. “I’m not a therapist. I’m not Dr Phil. I just give them my life experience.”
Those conversations have ranged from relationship breakdowns to suicidal thoughts. He doesn’t glamorise it. He takes it seriously.
“I’ve helped people step back from some very dark places,” he says quietly. “That’s not something I take lightly.”
The name that anchors his online identity reaches back into childhood.
Mendonca grew up surrounded by spirituality on his father’s side, with roots in Haitian traditions that included obeah and folk practices. “They used to call me ‘goblet’ when I was young,” he recalls. “It stuck.”
When he created his platform, he leaned into that memory. “It’s a piece of who I was. Who I still am.”
Spirituality, culture and ancestry remain central to his worldview. “Connecting to your roots is part of who we are,” he says. “It plays a big role in my life.”
Few things spark more backlash for Mendonca than his political commentary on Guyana, particularly because he no longer lives here.
“People tell me because I migrated I should keep my mouth shut,” he says. “I’m not going to.”
For him, nationality isn’t erased by borders. “Guyana is my home. I don’t have favourites. I speak how I see.”
Mendonca is often described as raw and unfiltered, a description he embraces. “I can’t be fake,” he says. “Even when you’re honest, people still say you’re fake.”
Still, there have been moments when he’s had to look inward.
He recalls a case involving public unrest after the death of Adriana Younge, when emotions ran high and he spoke harshly about her grieving father. Later, alone, he realised he had crossed a line.
“That wasn’t my place,” he says. “I don’t have a child. That’s a grieving mother and father.”
He apologised publicly. “Sometimes being real also means admitting when you’re wrong.”
One of Mendonca’s most urgent concerns is the rising number of Guyanese LGBT people seeking asylum in the UK following visa-free travel.
He understands why. “Some face family rejection, job discrimination, even violence,” he says. “That’s real.”
But he also offers blunt advice.
“Asylum isn’t a lifestyle upgrade,” he warns. “You have to work. You have to pay taxes. You can’t sit on benefits forever.”
He points to friends who arrived, studied, worked and built new lives and contrasts them with others who struggle because they don’t adapt.
“There’s a review after five years,” he explains. “Nothing is guaranteed. People need to know that.”
Despite identifying openly as gay, Mendonca admits he’s not universally accepted within the LGBT community.
“Some want you to speak only what suits them,” he says. “I can’t do that.”
He speaks candidly about leaving sex work years ago and encouraging others to find a way out. “That life didn’t make sense anymore,” he says. “You don’t enter it to stay forever.”
For some, those views are uncomfortable. For others, they’re lifesaving.
“I’ve helped a lot of people,” he says simply.
Though based in the UK, Mendonca frequently returns to Guyana and uses his platform to promote small Guyanese businesses — often for free.
“The small ones don’t need to pay me,” he says. “I just want the world to see what Guyana has to offer.”
He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. “I didn’t grow up with a gold spoon,” he says. “I know what struggle is.”
Asked what’s next, Mendonca shrugs. “I just go with the flow. Carefully.”
His final message is simple.
“Don’t listen to what people say about me,” he says. “Come talk to me yourself. Get to know me.”
He smiles. “I can be very nice. I can be terrible too. It all depends on the energy you bring.”
For better or worse, Jason Mendonca isn’t interested in being palatable. He’s interested in being real — and for the thousands who tune in daily, that honesty is exactly why they keep listening.
The post ‘Goblet Nation’ talks spirituality, asylum realities and the politics of speaking his truth appeared first on News Room Guyana.
