YOUTUBE sensation Nigel Ng, better known as ‘Uncle Roger’ - the persona he assumes in his comical food videos - has recently come under criticism of his own.
Earlier this week, he apologised to his audience on Weibo by removing a video of him and American food critic and fellow Youtuber Mike Chen.
"During the cooperation between me and the YouTuber, I wasn't aware of his political thoughts and the incorrect remarks he had made on China," Ng wrote, adding the video featuring Chen had created "negative social impact".
During the video, copies of which can be found online, there is no discussion of politics or Chinese government policy. Instead both men review someone else’s dumpling making techniques.
However, on his own time, Chen is frequently critical of Beijing, writing posts on human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against China's Uighur minority.
Chen told the AFP that "I do think that what happened here is the result of the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship, even if it wasn’t direct censorship," he said.
Uncle Roger stayed quiet before releasing a video this past Saturday titled ‘Uncle Roger ANIME? (Reddit Review)’, where he addressed the controversy.
He stated his position that he was merely an entertainer who wanted to make funny videos while avoiding drama, especially the sort that discussions of politics bring.
He also stresses that he does not receive any money from Chinese social media and was merely “...respecting everybody’s culture.”
Despite the drama he says he is committed to making videos for his audience.
On YouTube he currently has 3.18 million subscribers and while many of his videos have high number of views, they really exploded into the millions after he assumed the Uncle Roger persona.
According to his Instagram, he is currently back in "his home country Malaysia" after spending time in quarantine. - The Vibes, January 18, 2021
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