Astro’s entertainment show, “MeleTOP”, has come under fire for putting out a parody video of Malaysian pop singer Yuna and American R&B artiste Usher.
The parody clip poked fun of the live performance of “Crush” which the duo performed at The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, USA, last June. The incident sparked controversy after Usher was seen hugging the Muslim songstress.
The local comedy show, which aired last week, featured comedian Shuk SYJ, who applied blackface makeup to appear as the African-American singer, while comedian Jihan Muse decided to channel her inner Yuna by attempting to imitate the singer’s fashion taste – headscarf, earrings and all.
During their parody performance, Shuk was seen extending his arms to his fellow comedian, indicating that he wants to hug her, but instead, the funny woman played dumb and candidly bows down. While some found the parody hilarious, Yuna was less than impressed.
The singer took to Facebook to express her disapproval in a Facebook post that has since been deleted. Read her response here:
In case you didn’t know, blackface was a style of entertainment based on black stereotypes that gained popularity in the mid-19th century. Nonblack performers (typically white men) would paint their faces black by using burnt cork, greasepaint or shoe polish to portray African-American characters. Blackface is considered both derogatory and racist.
MeleTop has since issued an official apology on their Twitter account, saying, “We would like to sincerely apologise to Yuna & Usher for our recent parody video, which was poor judgement on our part. Rest assured that this does not reflect our values and beliefs.”
