'Bodoh lah!' Wang Lei, Selena Tan, Suhaimi Yusof and other Singaporean comedians weigh in on Jocelyn Chia's MH370 'joke'

Jocelyn Chia's now viral stand-up performance continues to make rounds on social media and has now even fuelled local comedians to weigh in on her words.

In a Facebook post last night (June 8), Malaysian former badminton player Lee Chong Wei called it a "low joke" and that "Malaysians and Singaporeans always love each other".

The 40-year-old also tagged Singaporean comedians Jack Neo, Mark Lee, Wang Lei and Henry Thia in the post, asking if Jocelyn, 43, is one of their disciples.

Wang Lei and Jack Neo later commented on the post.

Wang Lei, 62, wrote in Mandarin: "I am sorry, but she has really overdone it! I am a comedian, but I would never joke about politics, religion or race! I apologise to all Malaysians! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Jack, 63, wrote: "What is she doing?"

Jocelyn, an American, made the headlines yesterday in Singapore and Malaysia after she joked about the tragic disappearance of Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 during a recent stand-up comedy show in the United States.

While Jack and Wang Lei expressed their disapproval of Jocelyn's 'joke', netizens were quick to point out that there is no need for them to apologise, as she does not represent the views of Singaporeans and that she is responsible for her own words.

One said to Wang Lei: "It's not your problem, you are not at fault here. This is about how her words have offended Malaysians and she should come out to handle the problem."

On Instagram, local comedian-actor Suhaimi Yusof called Jocelyn's "cheap humour" a "tasteless joke".

The 53-year-old shared one phrase that he thinks "both Singaporeans and Malaysians can immediately understand… and in unity" - "Bodoh lah!"

"Bodoh" is a Malay word meaning "stupid" or "foolish".

'We all make mistakes'

Singaporean actress and businesswoman Irene Ang commented on Suhaimi's post that although she supported what he said, she also understands that as comedians, they "all made mistakes and said wrong things before".

"Let's just hope she recovers, learns from this mistake and moves on," Irene, 53, wrote.

However, actress and comedian Patricia Mok, 51, argued that Jocelyn's words "were not a mistake" and that "it was not an impromptu performance".

Irene replied, clarifying that it was a mistake as Jocelyn was "insensitive and she misrepresented the whole Singapore".

She added that "just as comedians are always treading on fine lines, many a times funny or not is subjective and sometimes words come out already too late".

A 'fine line' between funny and offensive

In a report by Lianhe Zaobao last evening, actor Sebastian Tan said that Jocelyn's joke about the MH370 tragedy was in "bad taste" and disrespectful to the victims and their bereaved families.

The 50-year-old emphasised that he "would never use tragedy as a joke".

"I will never joke about someone else, and will only joke about myself or my mother. There are some comedians who like to mock or offend others in their jokes, but there are many more things that can be used as a joke in this world."

Sebastian was also asked whether Jocelyn was trying to stir up news or attract public attention. He said: "As comedians, we should focus on entertaining the public, making our audience laugh and making the world a better place.

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"In fact, we have quite a huge social responsibility. Our words can change the audience's perspective, so even if we are telling jokes, we must speak with proper viewpoints and responsibly."

The Chinese daily also spoke to comedian-actress Selena Tan, 52, who said that comedy is about observing some real but sensitive matters.

She added: "In comedy performances, there is often a fine line between funny content and offensive content. If I think a topic is worth discussing and is humorous, I'll do it, and because I've been acting, I have a certain confidence in challenging my boundaries."

She admitted that some of her performances may have offended people, but that is not her intention and she would never make personal attacks or target a specific ethnic group.

On the other hand, Jocelyn seems to be amused by her newfound attention and even posted a few Instagram Stories after her account was briefly restored today.

In the first story, Jocelyn commented on reports that she deleted her profile or got "cancelled" by the social media platform after making the headlines yesterday and revealed that her account was allegedly suspended for "impersonating a celebrity".

"Who is the celebrity? Answer: Jocelyn Chia," she wrote.

In her second story, she thanked the comedy community for their support and said that she "had never loved [them] more".

In the last few Stories before her account was suspended again, she joked that she was "really getting cancelled" after forgetting to thank "non-binaries in the comedy community".

She then posted a picture of herself speaking in front of a small audience with the caption: "This crowd loves Jocelyn Chia!"

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The article has been edited for clarity.

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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