We haven’t heard much from actor Ben Amir after his RM100,000 lawsuit was resolved but the 34-year-old has been keeping himself busy with work and more recently, travelling. The local celeb is currently on a mission to climb Mount Everest Base Camp and has been posting about his journey on social media since last week.
During his expedition, the “Rebel” star was accompanied by some guide dogs to keep him from straying from the path. However, Malaysian netizens weren’t so keen on the idea that he was travelling with his new furry friends.
Over the weekend, Ben Amir posted a carousel post on Instagram of himself with one of his guide dogs for his ascend to the Mount Everest Base Camp. The actor was shown giving his new canine friend a pat before they carried on with their journey that day. Just like Malaysian celebrities before him, he was met with backlash for touching a dog.
Netizens criticised the public figure for touching an animal that is considered haram in Islam and that he should not be posting such photos to avoid slander. According to several reports, Ben took to Instagram Story to address the criticism made against him. “Did you know that there are snow leopards in the area? I’m showing appreciation for [the dog] cause it has kept us safe but you were all quick to judge like you’re brainless,” he wrote in the now-expired IG Story.
The celeb added that the dog had joined him and his group on their journey since Day 1. These dogs not only protected them but also made sure they were on the right path to their destination. “If you don’t like dogs, we can’t be friends,” he said. The comments section of the controversial post has since been disabled.
As aforementioned, Ben Amir is one of many Malaysian-Muslim celebs who were slammed for posting photos with dogs. Previously, actress Maya Karin received online harassment for walking her rumoured boyfriend’s dogs during her Los Angeles trip. Prior to that, actress Tiz Zaqyah also drew lots of negative attention when she posted a photo of herself with a dog on Instagram.
Should Malaysian celebs keep their dog posts to themselves or should they have the freedom to share their friendly encounters with their canine friends?
