KUALA LUMPUR – Under-fire comedian Jocelyn Chia said she still stands by her joke about MH370, saying it had to be understood "in its entirety" as presented in a performance.
In remarks to CNN over the furore she caused with a clip of an excerpt of her performance in a Manhattan comedy club, Chia said that “upon reflection”, she could now see that “a clip that gets viewed out of a comedy club context was risky”.
She also said that her routine had been performed “more than a hundred times” before that particular joke was used as a short clip for social media, causing “some necessary context” to be missed.
“I do stand by my joke but with a caveat – I stand by it in its entirety, when viewed in a comedy club,” CNN quoted her as saying.
Chia added that she bore no grudge against Malaysia, and that it was common for comedians to poke fun at their live audience.
The excerpt of Chia’s performance came to light recently on social media, where she mocked the missing flight MH370 by saying that Malaysia’s planes don’t land, while also berating Malaysia and telling a Malaysian member of the audience to “f**k off”
After outcry from Malaysians, Singapore high commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon condemned Chia’s “hurtful” jokes, and said she was confirmed to no longer be a Singaporean citizen.
Various quarters, from individuals, some of them local comedians, besides political figures, have condemned Chia, with Umno Youth calling for a protest against her outside the US embassy.
Today, Bernama in a tweet said Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani was seeking Interpol’s cooperation to obtain Chia’s full identity and current location. – The Vibes, June 13, 2023
