'Stupid witch': Angry netizens on migrant worker discrimination scene in local drama Lion Mums

They say that art imitates life. Maybe that's why this scene from a local drama caused such a stir online. 

On Monday (Dec 6), Channel 5 uploaded a snippet of an episode of Lion Mums onto their Facebook Page, with the caption: "Parents, please don't behave this way". 

In the video, one of the characters, Peggy, is seen behaving rudely towards a South Asian man — whom she mistook for a migrant worker — despite the latter saving her daughter from an oncoming truck.

When the man tries to show concern for the girl, Peggy yells at him: "Don't you dare touch her! I don't want you anywhere near my child with those filthy hands!" 

In a fit of rage, she starts hurling insults at the man, calling him a "menace" and "disgusting". 

Later on in the episode, it is revealed that the man is actually the head of a charity organisation dedicated to helping migrant workers. 

The two-minute-long video has gone viral, receiving over 39,000 reactions and more than 900 comments from netizens who seem to be infuriated by Peggy's blatant discrimination against migrant workers.

Incendiary remarks aside, there were also others who caught on to the greater issue that the show was trying to address. 

First released in 2015, Lion Mums is a drama series starring Nurul Aini, Lina Ng, Vanessa Vanderstraaten and Constance Lau. It tells the stories of three mothers who share the same goal of giving their children the best that they can. 

The show is now in its fourth season and is available on MeWatch. 

claudiatan@asiaone.com