Online Stir Prompts Samsung To Remove Ad Featuring Muslim Drag Queen
One of Samsung’s ad from their Listen to Your Heart campaign received quite the backlash because it featured a Muslim mother, Zainab, and her drag queen child. It became a heated debate between the liberals and the conservatives in Singapore overnight.
Barely hours after the backlash, Samsung removed the ad from its 4 part series and released an apology on their Facebook page on Wednesday, January 19
Source: Facebook, Samsung
The comment section has been limited by Samsung but that didn’t stop netizens from voicing out their concerns over the ad being removed, throwing in questions about inclusivity and sensitivity.
Most wondered how a mother’s unconditional love is considered to be offensive to anyone.
A rather interesting debate that was attention grabbing happened as points were laid out and shots were fired.
Good points were made here. Everyone deserves to share their stories but as always, within boundaries and respecting religious sensitivities because this is Singapore.
A different perspective that could have worked, there are many ways to highlight a mother’s unconditional love for their child.
The series of ads were an attempt to highlight the importance of special people in one’s hearts. Individuals were invited to listen to a few songs and recorded their heartbeats on the wearable device. They were then asked to listen to voice recordings of their loved ones to see the difference in the rhythm of their heartbeats.
The stories ranged from a drag queen who expressed his gratitude to his supportive mother to a man paying tribute to his fiancée who battled depression while taking care of her ailing mother. The whole series highlighted the human capacity for unconditional love and accepting others for who they are.
While love is the driving force in the world, there are many ways to depict unconditional love without offending any particular community. There is no harm in accepting and loving people for who they are but there are some things that should be left behind closed doors.
We are a progressive country but with a conservative soul, perhaps it is better to stay within boundaries to maintain the status quo.
Reporter’s Opinions: I am about to play the devil’s advocate here.
Why is it when something is offensive to the Muslim community, everyone is up in arms, calling out the community for being regressive, backwards, does not respect and tolerate differences in others. What happened to respecting each other’s beliefs and boundaries?
Respecting boundaries works both ways. You want to talk about lack of tolerance but when you come out to attack someone’s belief, aren’t you doing the same?
Everyone should be loved and accepted for who they are but there are certain things that will remain taboo in the eyes of religion. Certain conservative values are here to stay whether you like it or not and to attack them because you believe that they are discriminating against you, that is where the problem lies.
No one is discriminating against you by taking down a video that is offensive to their belief. You are taking it personally because you want everyone to accept your values but when you choose not to accept theirs, that is fine?
Singapore is built upon values of respecting everyone regardless of race, language or religion, perhaps it is time that we all review that before inculcating liberal western values without fully understanding the consequences it may bring.
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