ACTRESS Liyana Jasmay, 35, said that she took public criticism regarding her comments on skin colour discrimination from a positive perspective, and that her actions indirectly attracted the attention of her followers.
Liyana did not expect that her sharing on TikTok to defend herself when faced with criticism from netizens caused many of her followers, who have experienced the same treatment, to be touched.
"I really didn't think sharing on TikTok could get up to three million viewers. But Alhamdulillah, my statement made other people happy and they also shared their fate with me.
"I got a lot of notifications, thousands of people commented. I really didn’t intend to make something like this sensational," she told Getaran.
Liyana said this at a ceremony to introduce her latest drama series, Alter-Narratif, at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Liyana said she was grateful because her viral social media post about skin colour discrimination made women or men with darker complexions respect each other more.
"Skin colour discrimination and body shaming has even become a norm for netizens today.
"People don't just call artistes, but ordinary people too. Things like this are normal, so we have to face it calmly because not everyone likes us. The important thing is how we respond," she said.
Meanwhile, Liyana plays the role of Aira Kamal in the Viu original drama Alter-Narratif, which started streaming on May 25.
The script, directed by Faizal Ishak, is a psychological thriller that viewers can check out every Thursday on the Viu streaming platform.
Besides Liyana, the drama also features Gambit Saifullah, Nabila Huda, Neers Azizi and Rahil Omar. – The Vibes, May 30, 2023
*this story originally appeared in our Malay-language sister portal Getaran