There are plenty of global superstars with a connection to Malaysia. Whether they lived here, studied here, or have a Malaysian parent, fans are always excited to learn that their favourite celebrity has ties to our country. One of those public figures is professional tennis player Nick Kyrgios whose mother is Malaysian.
During a recent interview on the Louis Theroux podcast, the athlete shared more about his family and his mother’s early life in Malaysia before she moved to Australia. However, the way he described his mother’s upbringing is not as truthful as it actually is. Here’s what he said:
When asked about his mother, Norlaila, Nick Kyrgios claimed that she grew up in a wooden shack in a pure slum outside of the city of Kuala Lumpur. “My mom grew up in a wooden shack and my dad came by boat so is my career really underachieved or is it finding a way out of this mess and then making it work?” he added, implying how hard his parents worked to achieve the life they have now.
Not long after the podcast episode was released, Malaysians flooded the comments section to refute the tennis player’s claims that his mother had lived a difficult life. Over the years, it has been widely reported that Nick’s mother, Norlaila, is actually a member of the Pahang Royal Family. According to NST, she grew up in Gombak, and her grandfather’s cousin was the Sultan of Pahang. Norlaila even revealed to Lite.fm back in 2020 that her mother, Juliana Ibrahim, was a well-known actress who starred alongside Tan Sri P. Ramlee in the 1967 film “Sesudah Suboh”.
With this information in mind, netizens believed that Nick Kyrgios was lying or overexaggerating about his mother’s early life. Some suspected that the wooden shack Norlaila lived in could be a traditional rumah kampung. Others believed that migrating to Australia wouldn’t have been much of a struggle for the star’s mother given her family background.
Watch the snippet of the interview below:
@officiallouistheroux More from my conversation with Nick Kyrgios! You can find the full episode on Spotify – Merry Christmas!
