For those who are not aware, Malaysia’s no.1 singer Dato Sri Siti Nurhaliza was added as part of the lineup for the “David Foster & Friends” concert in Jakarta at the last minute to replace UK singer Jessie J, who could not perform at the show last weekend. While this news would normally excite fans, many were outraged that the “Wanita” songstress agreed to perform with the famous composer, who had been accused of being a Zionist.
This has since created an online debate on what Siti and her team should’ve done before and after accepting the last-minute job. Unfortunately, there were fans who may have taken things a little bit too far when it came to defending their favourite artist against the backlash. Here’s what happened:
After news broke out about her involvement in the recent “David Foster & Friends” show, many shared their disappointment in Siti Nurhaliza since she has been a strong supporter of Palestine’s liberation. Editor and music manager Joe Lee gave his two cents on the issue, questioning why the icon would accept the offer to perform at the concert in Jakarta.
His opinions received mixed attention from netizens, especially those who claimed to be fans of the singer. Actress Tiz Zaqyah was one of those who thanked him for his political stance. However, some Siti Nurhaliza fans or Sitizoners, were not happy with the negative attention their idol was getting and attacked those who dared to criticise her. As seen in the screenshot below, one Sitizoner slammed Tiz by accusing her of riding on the viral issue to which the 35-year-old responded with, “Ride with me”.
Sadly, she wasn’t the only one who received backlash for her stance. For some reason, singer Amir Jahari was also dragged into this debate when he made a general tweet to remind the public to not idolise a celebrity so blindly. This post did not sit well with Siti fans as they too attacked him by accusing him of belittling the legend’s efforts to bring awareness to the ongoing genocide.
At the time of writing, neither Siti Nurhaliza nor her team have released an official statement regarding the backlash that she’s been receiving or the behaviour of those who claimed to her fans. Let’s hope that this doesn’t get any worse than it already is.
