Local celebs Fauzi Nawawi and Raja Farah are currently trending on Twitter after an old video of the former engaging in locker room talk with several other male actors made its way online earlier this week.
In the viral clip posted by social media user @FayyanFreaks (which was taken from the Astro Warna talk show called “Rumah No. 107”), the actor was seen discussing the deleted rape scene involving him and the aforementioned female celeb in the 2007 movie “Anak Halal”.
Tertengok dekat tiktok like how doh diaorang open this topic dekat tv ? like how doh ? tak boleh brain wei pic.twitter.com/4RMGKZMUQf
— Yan (@FayyanFreaks) October 19, 2021
During the chat, the 48-year-old stated that while shooting the said scene, he was trying his best to control his lust at that time. Fauzi was also asked by the show’s host Shuk Sahar to give a detailed explanation as he wanted to “imagine the whole situation” during the filming. The episode featuring Fauzi, along with Fizz Fairuz and Zulhuzaimy, was aired back in June.
The video was met with backlash from the public, with most of them expressing their disgust over the statement shared by Fauzi on the show. This also prompted Raja Farah, and also her husband Iskandar Ismail, to issue their response on the controversy. In this case, Iskandar asserted that the statement shared by Fauzi in the interview was “wrong on so many levels”. The actors in the video were also called out for disrespecting and disgracing women in their discussion.
“I can understand that you want to share with the audience about your previous work, on how real the cinematic experience is. We also understand that my wife was involved. But when he decided to specifically drop her name when discussing the rape scene, I don’t think it’s appropriate for him to do so,” Iskandar was quoted as saying.
“I feel very vulnerable and disrespected by what was said in the clip. I hope those who were involved in the conversation will apologise personally,” the “Salon” actress said. Iskandar chimed in, “This is disrespectful towards women. It is unnecessary in the first place,” before questioning, “Would he speak about his sisters or his mother this way?”
Following the immense criticism, Fauzi later took to his Instagram to issue a public apology to Raja Farah, Iskandar, as well as their family members who were offended by his triggering statement. “I would like to apologise to everyone who had been affected by the video, especially to Raja Farah, her husband, and her family,” the husband to actress Lisdawati said in an IGTV clip posted on his social media.
Fauzi further clarified, “When we were shooting this segment, I had asked the production staff to censor the sensitive parts because whenever we talk among men, we cannot really control ourselves. And I accidentally let Raja Farah’s name slip. It is my fault, I was ignorant, and I will do better next time.”
Meanwhile, the main host of “Rumah No. 107”, Khir Rahman, has also came forth to address the recent controversy surrounding the viral clip. Apart from relaying his apology to both the actress and her spouse, the “Muzikal Lawak Superstar” contestant also urged the public to stop spreading the aforementioned video of the local artistes discussing about the rape scene.
Read his full statement here:
To quote a few netizens on Twitter about the issue, “Rape is not a joke and it should not be normalised. You’re not a victim so you don’t have the trauma (of being a victim of sexual assault).”
