Singer Ning Baizura recently went viral for a comment made during her Instagram Live with fans. In the viral clip, the songstress was seen reading comments from netizens who were spamming her with #AllEyesOnRafah to which she immediately responded with, “Who’s that?”.
Her comment sparked widespread sensation and led to intense scrutiny and attacks on social media as people thought she wasn’t concerned enough or even aware of the genocide going on in Palestine. Over the weekend, the artist uploaded a video on Instagram to address the situation and the backlash she’s received.
In her explanation video, the 48-year-old detailed that during her live broadcast, she was interacting with fans who were making song requests for her to sing. She claimed that, when she saw the “All Eyes On Rafah” comment, she meant to ask for the name of the netizen who made the comment, thus, the question “Who’s that?”.
The performer clarified, “I didn’t mean to make fun of the situation in Gaza. It was a spontaneous reaction. I said ‘Who’s that’ and not ‘What’s that.'” Some of the comments she received from netizens were nonsensical and deeply hurtful. The artist stated, “As human beings, we have to look at both sides. Please investigate first before saying something so harsh on my IG.” The actress also took the opportunity to thank her fans for standing up against the malicious comments on her social media page.
The record producer’s video garnered much sympathy from netizens, with some apologising for their harsh words. One commented, “I understand. I want to apologise as I was also one of the people who threw those harsh words.” While some still insisted that Ning “should just apologise for her ignorance,” many others expressed their love and support for her.
Everything was blown out of proportion. “People were coming for my family, attacking my husband, some even went as far as to accuse me of converting to Christian. This is just ridiculous,” Ning Baizura was quoted as saying. Similar to what happened to Siti Nurhaliza, a small portion was taken out of context, and as a result, the artist became a magnet for nasty comments.
The Gaza issue has long been sensitive in Malaysia, with even minor comments sparking massive reactions from netizens. While voicing opinions is important, it’s vital to consider the impact of our words and actions on others’ feelings. Consider the “Blockout 2024” incident. Amidst all this, let’s aim to refrain from harsh comments on Instagram and prioritise spreading love.
Watch Ning Baizura’s video here:
The controversial moment in the livestream that went viral:
“All eyes on Rafah. Who’s that?” Ada eh manusia yang macam ni sekali? Kalau cakap artis malaysia memang ramai out of touch or just plain bangang kang mula lah sekor sekor sentap terpaling artist pun struggle jugak blablabla. Its high time we de-influence n defund these people lah pic.twitter.com/EKaWQkzx0h
— Juju (@arxxxxmand) May 14, 2024
Source: Instagram
Sabrina Azahar contributed to this article.
