In Malaysia’s local entertainment industry, there are many talented actors and singers who boast mixed-race backgrounds. However, many netizens are still critical of these celebs for using their “Western” features to earn favouritism.
Recently, a clip featuring local actress Nina Smith has been making rounds on Twitter. The clip was from an interview the 24-year-old did with Remaja magazine for their Hero Dewi Remaja 2023 competition. In the video, the actress answered a question, saying, “I’m mixed Caucasian but I admit that I have Malay features and that has been an insecurity. But as I grew older, I started to embrace my look because I’m in the middle. I don’t look Caucasian but I don’t look Malay.”
“I mix mat salleh tapi I admit that muka I macam melayu sikit and has been an insecurity…” 😖😖😖
Tapi heshe muka melayu melayu & kenapa heshe insecure dono what for? 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lSKCRwFSrI
— nayanika (@amirridzuan) September 17, 2023
The video garnered the attention of local netizens, slamming the Malaysian-American actress for her statement. Many think that Nina’s words indicate that she sees Malay features as unattractive and that she’s not proud of her heritage. Many also mocked her looks, saying that she doesn’t have any Caucasian features.
Following the criticism, the actress uploaded a video through her TikTok clarifying her statement. In her video, the actress, whose real name is Amalina Smith, said she has always received questions about her background due to her appearance. She said many people have doubted her heritage and even accused her of faking her Caucasian background. Due to those experiences, Nina said she grew defensive about her background, which caused her to provide such an answer in the viral video clip.
The actress then admitted her mistake of saying she was insecure about her Malay features and said she would learn from the incident. Her explanation has received praise from netizens who applauded the young star for speaking up against the hate comments in a kind manner.
@notninasmith Replying to @corona im never insecure of how i look. infact maybe you’d be insecure if you see me in real life 😝😝
What do you think about this situation? Was the hate comments towards Nina too much?
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