There’s a thin line between joking about a community and mocking them – and some comedians have learned this the hard way. Recently, a Chinese influencer was called out for his video that seemed to be mocking Thai people’s English skills.
MrYang (杨家成), known by his handle @/mryangenglish177, is a Chinese teacher-influencer notable for his videos teaching English in a comedic manner. Recently, the influencer posted a video about the English skills of the average Thai person. In the video, the social media personality poked fun at how the average Thai English speaker would disregard basic grammar rules. He also made jokes about their accents and how they would pronounce certain English words.
It is worth noting that the public figure has done similar videos in the past but regarding other countries and races. It also seems that the purpose of the video is to assure Chinese visitors that they won’t have issues speaking English in Thailand because it’s easier than expected. Nevertheless, Yang received a lot of flak for the video, especially from Thai people. Many believed it was mocking Thai people, whose first language is not English.
Following the backlash, Yang addressed the matter through a live stream on his Instagram account. During the broadcast, the influencer apologised for the video, saying it was never his intention to mock Thai people. He explained that pointing out the accents and grammar mistakes are just part of his work as an English teacher. However, he denied his action was to undermine Thai people’s English skills.
Many viewers have responded to the apology video, showing mixed reactions to his statement. Many backed Yang up, saying it’s unfortunate that the video received so much criticism as they had found it entertaining. On the other hand, some people said he should be more understanding of those criticising him, adding that the harsh and distasteful delivery in the original video is particularly why it got people angry.
It seems that both sides brought up good points in their argument. We hope Mr Yang will be more cautious with his delivery in future videos – but what are your thoughts on this?
Watch the original video and Mr Yang’s apology below:
