Dato Sri Siti Nurhaliza’s title as Malaysia’s No.1 singer remains untouchable. One of the most beloved artists in our country, it’s hard to imagine anyone having some sort of resentment towards her but that doesn’t mean she’s immune to being boycotted or criticised for something she has done.
During the latest episode of the singer’s stepson, Asyraf Khalid’s “Apa Cerita?” podcast, which was posted yesterday (Monday, 29th July) on YouTube, Siti shared some of the ups and downs in the early days of her career and how she was once boycotted – not by society, but the media. Here’s what happened:
Siti Nurhaliza revealed that there was a time in her career that made her decide to not take photos with any male artists unless it was work-related. She explained that she wanted to avoid being slandered as back in the day, several publications would often pair two young artists together during photo sessions or photoshop them together on magazine covers, which, of course, would later lead to dating rumours.
“I came from a very conservative family so I try not to do anything that would upset my family, especially my mother. There was one time when I took a photo with Zarul Umbrella which caused quite a stir. So I kindly asked the media at that time to respect my condition that I would not take a photo with a male celeb unless we were both working on a project together,” she said.
Unfortunately for the songstress, she received heavy criticism from the media as many thought her request was unreasonable. This was due to the fact that it was so unheard of at the time since no other local celeb had set a “peculiar” condition such as hers. Thankfully, the public had her back amidst the backlash.
“I strongly believe that whatever decision I made would be accepted one day and the people defended me on my stance. Eventually, that has become the norm and everyone has accepted that this is my principle,” the singer added. In the same interview, the mother-of-two also talked about how grateful she is to have such a successful career until today.
When asked about her secret to staying relevant in the industry, she answered that it was all thanks to her amazing team who had carefully planned her career and the support of her loyal fans throughout the years.
Watch the full episode below or skip to 44:19 to hear the boycott story:
Source: YouTube
