Shane Pow Does Blackface: Did Toggle Dismiss Racial Sensitivity?
MediaCorp‘s online service Toggle has come under fire for featuring Chinese actor Shane Pow in a racially insensitive scene. Episode 6 of the Toggle original “I Want To Be A Star” depicts a series of offensive scenes ranging from blackface to misrepresentation of people from Indian and African descent.
This isn’t the first time a MediaCorp entity has been associated with the offensive blackface.
Blackface refers to the makeup used to impersonate or dress up as a black person. As a costume, it reduces entire cultures to just the colour of their skin. It forms a caricature of the marginalised group and exaggerates stereotypes to reinforce racist perceptions.
In short, it is racist and wrong. Period.
When clearly at fault, sugarcoating your wrongdoing clearly adds more insult to injury. Toggle’s latest apology posted Wednesday night sidestepped the issue to the point of placing the blame on the viewers instead.
The head-scratching phrase “perceived as being racially insensitive” disqualifies this attempt at an apology. While we understand that apologising for misdeeds is a difficult area for corporate PR, discomfort with admitting that you were wrong is a hallmark of public apologies. Swallow your pride, admit your mistake, and carry on.
Actor Shane Pow has yet to issue a comment on the matter.
As expected, Twitter didn’t take the half-baked attempt too well. Singaporeans laid the truth on the @ToggleSG account and they laid it hard.
.@ToggleSG actually it's okay. Don't even bother. You guys will NEVER get it.
— Ila S. (@danceinthedarth) October 25, 2016
.@ToggleSG This isn't an apology. Admit someone made a mistake during the production process instead of blaming the viewers' "perception".
— Nate (@_anakink) October 25, 2016
Funny how Obama and Ellen speaking about the progression of LGBT rights was censored but black face got through. @mediacorp
— Nate (@_anakink) October 25, 2016
@ToggleSG pic.twitter.com/7VPnLwSfAa
— ☆・゜・。・゜。・。☆ (@mxsked_) October 25, 2016
@ToggleSG just apologise properly and go. Don't make it seem like WE went out of the way to get offended.
— deepavali taara 💖 (@SATANNED) October 25, 2016
@ToggleSG It's inherently racist, not "perceived" as racist. don't sugarcoat your mistake to comfort yourself and everyone else
— hanan (@keou_) October 25, 2016
And the perennial…
@ToggleSG Delete your account
— Sng Jiarong (@sngjiarong) October 25, 2016
As of Thursday afternoon, Episode 6 of the online series has been removed from the Toggle page.
We hope the relevant people have learnt something from this.
==
Image Credits: Screengrabs from Toggle
Stay updated and social with Popspoken: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
This article Shane Pow Does Blackface: Did Toggle Dismiss Racial Sensitivity? appeared first on Popspoken.