Malaysian fashion brand Christy Ng has faced multiple accusations of plagiarising designs from both international and local brands. The first instance occurred when netizens noticed striking similarities between the company’s handbag collections and those of Goyard and Dior. Another incident arose when the brand was called out for copying the design of the homegrown shoe label Machino.
Some time has passed and despite the allegations, the company seems to be doing to be doing well these days. However, after the CEO posted a video of her preparing a surprise for her staff, many were quick to bring up old controversies to remind others of her alleged misdeeds. Here’s what happened:
The founder, Christy Ng (伍美眉), recently shared a video on her TikTok channel showing herself hiding RM50 notes along with a handwritten message in her employees’ bags as a surprise to express her appreciation for their loyalty and hard work. While the post may seem wholesome, someone on Twitter, using the handle @/holiltheV, brought up the times when the CEO was accused of mistreating her interns and staff at the company. “A reminder that this person bullied her interns and shortened her staff’s maternity leaves,” the netizen claimed.
For context, in 2017, a former intern detailed her experience working for the brand, claiming that the workload was overwhelming and that she was humiliated in front of customers. In response to these allegations, Christy Ng issued a statement asserting that all claims were false. She even clarified her stance on maternity leave after going viral for the reportedly misleading headlines back in 2019. Despite the clarifications, many still refuse to let the past go. Shortly after @/holiltheV’s post on Twitter circulated, netizens expressed their gratitude to the user for the reminder and criticised the entrepreneur for only giving RM50 notes to each staff member, labelling her as “stingy”.
Fortunately for Christy, a few people came to her defence. One man, who claimed to be one of her staff members, stated that the CEO had provided all the necessary support for his upcoming paternity leave. “Diapers, allowance, baby products, I can confidently say that she’s sponsored all of them. No issues with maternity/paternity leaves whatsoever. She’s even treated the confinement service lady for 2 weeks,” he said. In a follow-up post, he stated that he’d rather not talk about work online but could not stand idly as his employer was receiving backlash. The man even showcased the gifts he got from his boss.
Another netizen claimed that their friend works for Christy, adding that she’s been a kind and supportive boss to her team. “She would bring back souvenirs for her employees from overseas trips and give words of affirmation among other things. It doesn’t matter what others think but she’s setting some pretty good work culture,” the user wrote. What do you make of this situation?
Watch the video that started this online argument:
@christyemilylove I may not be lucky in many things but when it comes to my team, I’ve got the best one in the world. To the amazing people I work with every other day – you guys make the journey an unforgettable one. When handed possibilities, you guys just turn them into miracles 🤗
Regardless if this display was for “content” to show off her good deeds, it’s nice to see the Christy Ng employees standing up for their boss.
Sources: TikTok, Twitter (1)(2), MediaHiburan, VulcanPost
