After Mediacorp and Nets issued an apology for the controversial E-Pay advertisement, Singaporean influencer and comedian Preeti Nair, famously known as Preetipls, along with her brother, rapper Subhas Nair, also released a public apology for “any hurt that was unintentionally caused” by their rap video.
The statement was posted on the siblings’ Facebook and Instagram pages.
The duo clarified that the main message behind the creation of their music video was to highlight that “opportunities must be for everyone”.
They added that they selected K. Muthusamy as the face behind the music video solely due to “his ability to address privilege, power and censorship”. In addition, “he speaks to characters from all walks of life in Singapore, bringing home the point that only some people truly pay”, the statement read.
“Behind the music video is an initiative to provide greater consciousness to consumers, corporations, and the many faces of Singapore,” the duo explained.
“K.Muthusamy” rap video
On Monday (29 June), the siblings released a rap video on Facebook and YouTube calling out epaysg.com, an e-payment website, for being racist.
In case you’ve not been following this saga, the duo published this video in response to an advertisement by epaysg.com that featured Mediacorp actor and DJ Dennis Chew impersonating different races.
In the advertisement, one can see Chew dressed up as different races in Singapore such as a Malay woman in a headscarf as well as an Indian man with darkened skin. He also portrayed the role of a Chinese woman in a pink jacket and a Chinese man with a moustache in the advertisement.
As expected, the ad did not go down too well with the public, with many criticising the need to use one person to play different roles instead of hiring people of the actual races to play the characters.
The sibling duo were also not happy with the ad, resulting in them releasing a video that slammed the ad.
The video titled “K. Muthusamy” contains offensive content. In the video, the siblings can be seen repeatedly uttering “Chinese people always out here f***king it up”, while condemning Chinese Singaporeans who they claim are racist and exploit minorities for money.
However, the rap video received massive backlash from the authorities with the police noting that they’re investigating the matter as they will “not tolerate any offensive content that causes ill will between races”.
The Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shamugam also said that it “crosses the line” and is not acceptable.
“This rap video insults Chinese Singaporeans, uses four-letter words on Chinese Singaporeans, vulgar gestures, pointing of middle finger, to make minorities angry with Chinese Singaporeans,” he said.
He added, “When you use four-letter words, vulgar language, attack another race, put it out in public, we have to draw the line and say not acceptable.”
The siblings later took down the video from Facebook and other social media channels, but others reuploaded the clip on different online sites.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) also revealed on Wednesday (31 July) that it had requested individuals and Internet platforms to remove the video. The police and IMDA also urged people to stop circulating the rap video.
