Hong Kong stars Eric Tsang and Kenny Bee are currently in hot water in China after a photo of them with controversial Malaysian rapper Namewee went viral. Responding to the resulting uproar over being seen with the allegedly “anti-China” singer, both actors have released statements. They emphasised that they posed for the photo out of courtesy and that it had no reflection on their political stance whatsoever.
In his statement, Kenny Bee clarified he had no intentions of offending anyone whilst Eric said that as a Chinese person, the country’s dignity and sentiments was of utmost importance. “This incident was simply an unintentional mistake. It doesn’t mean that I support or agree with the (political) views of that person.” He also added that had he known about Namewee’s controversial background in advance, he would’ve avoided him altogether.
Both Eric and Kenny Bee were in Genting, Malaysia to attend an event where photos of them posing with the Malaysian rapper soon made the rounds online. Namewee himself had posted the photo on social media as he wished them good luck on their performance. This resulted in a huge public backlash for the two who promptly issued statements to clarify the situation.
In 2021, Namewee was banned on Chinese social media for his song “Fragile” which he released with Taiwan-based Australian singer Kimberley Chen. Whilst the song, which was sung in Mandarin, sounded like a sweet love song, its satirical lyrics were deemed by the mainland as “anti-Chinese”. Given the recent developments, it appears Namewee has decided to choose this time to promote another satirical song of his titled, “Letter of Apology,” which he shared on Facebook.
Source: 1
Coralie
poor namawee, seen as a pariah because a country can’t take a joke. he actually has good songs, great lyrics and now his whole career is stalled and he can’t even hang out with famous ppl
Raya
So tyrannical!
Raya
That totally reflects the importance of free speech, despite how we may dislike it sometimes.
Anon
Right to free speech does not mean right to insult or spread falsehood about others.
Anon
Hahaha. Even in Malaysia, his home country, he is not liked by the authorities either. He has been arrested a few times for insulting country and religion and inciting racial tensions. He is well-known for his use of profanity and obscenity in his songs and music videos. He once released a naked video of himself. He has been acting like since his secondary school days and has made a name for himself for deliberately causing controversy. It’s a pity that he doesn’t use his music talent for raise awareness of social issues in a better manner. Insults, provocation and false allegations never work.
Coralie
well, to be fair, is it really false allegations? I mean…he got himself banned for a song about ‘fragile hearts’ lol. the other song I heard from him is about gambling and how it destroys families and the results of that habit on others. it’s a great moving song. I’m not sure about inciting racial tensions though (is it justified?). the other time he spoke up about someone with allegations of rape against a very popular male artist. that male artist subsequently went dark for a few and is now moving again, so who knows if those allegations are true or not.
from what I can tell, his stuff sounds alright, mostly positive or having fun poking fun at someone/something.
Anon
Yes, there were some false allegations in there. And definitely numerous insulting and obscene materials. As you also said “who knows if those allegations are true or not” . If one doesn’t know whether true or not, then leading the public to believe that it’s true could destroy someone’s life.
Is inciting racial tensions ever justified? Especially in a country where this is already a highly sensitive matter? Should it be excused with just a flippant “it’s a joke” when a song is never just an “off the cuff”, thoughtless remark? It takes weeks and months to be prepared for release.
Sure, there are many social issues that should be discussed properly and find solutions too. That’s why I said, it’s a pity he didn’t use his talent to channel it into the right direction. Most of his audience are young people, they are just nice songs to sing and bop their heads to.
I first heard of him when he was still a student in Taiwan. He released a song titled with the name of the malaysian national anthem and added a local slang for male private parts into it. He used parts of the anthem in the song too. You tell me in which country he won’t get into trouble with the authorities for that? As he himself said – the way he expresses himself may not be accepted by everybody and he hopes people can understand he meant well. Well, angry people don’t want to hear his excuses that he meant well.
Most of his works are entertaining and creative. His movies were big hits. Only some songs where they are specifically directed at some topics or some people cause controversy. And he absolutely meant to cause the controversy. He’s not some innocent victim who inadvertently found himself on the “wrong” side . Anyway, just some background on him.
Coralie
when I say if inciting racial tension is justified, I meant that in a good way. for example, maybe he’s trying to bring attention to how a race is being oppressive or how another race is acting butt hurt over something insignificant. while others might perceive that to be “inciting racial tensions,” in fact he’s shedding light and making fun of the ridiculous reasons behind their actions. You can’t tell me it’s not ironic he called the song, “fragile heart,” and then be subsequently banned lol.
in that rape incident, he actually knows the female party who wouldn’t speak up, so he spoke up for her. who’s going to reveal the truth? the rapist? the victim? esp if neither wants to speak up. if he is doing this out of malice, then that’s another issue. so far, aside from seeing him poke fun or making fun of others, he hasn’t done anything to make me assume he’s an @$$hole out to harm others.
have you heard the song, “this is America” by childish Gambino? he does the same thing. not putting offensive slang to the anthem, but he’s definitely saying a lot of offensive things about America. it’s satire. lots of other artists in the states does this. but they don’t get in trouble with the authorities….
controversy, depending on how it’s used, can be good. it makes people talk, debate, discuss, relate, etc. it’s really dependent on your perspective. from your stance, it sounds like you only see him as manipulative and offensive to make money. from my side, I think he’s a great satirical artist who likes to touch on controversial topics to deliver a message. both can be true.
Applefish
I agreed his songs are very catchy, their messages are also great. If he was in America, everyone would love him and he would be able to do his stuffs more freely. And yes, he’s a classic case of the importance of free speech.
Put it this way, the alleged celebrity would sue him if he was truly innocent 🙄 and look any many celebrity cases, where there have been bad rumours against them, n ppl keep going on about how innocent they were, n years later, they are all turned out to be true! They are in the inner circle n actually know things better than we do 😒
FragileMV
Did Eric Tsang care about Yammie Lam’s dignity? Also, Namawee songs are good.