M'sian Influencer Walks Off FB Livestream After Netizens Criticise Her Keyboard-Playing
The talk show went smoothly until the three hosts decided to have a jam session and asked her to play along.
By May Vin Ang — 11 Mar 2021, 06:56 PM
A Malaysian influencer stormed off a Facebook livestream after she found out viewers were criticising her for playing the keyboard poorly onscreen
Cathryn Li, famous on Instagram for her fitness and lifestyle content with almost two million followers, was invited for a chat on a Facebook live talk show called FaceTalk by local music producer Andy Chan on 8 March.
The livestream went smoothly for about two hours until the three hosts decided to have a jam session and invited Li to play along on the piano for fun
The 31-year-old is a known piano player to her followers and often posts videos of herself playing classical music.
In good spirit, she played a song with them on the keyboard, but after seeing she was not familiar with the contemporary songs they were choosing, she declined Chan's next invitation and went back to sit at the table to listen.
While they continued jamming, Li can be seen scrolling on her phone when her expression visibly darkened.
After the hosts completed a song, Li voiced out her discomfort to them and said netizens in the comments were criticising her
The hosts told her she did not have to bother about them and that it was okay.
However, she got more agitated and said that people were scolding her for not knowing how to play the keyboard properly.
"But now people are scolding me. You asked me not to care about what people are saying, but they are not talking about you, they are talking about me," she lamented to them.
Li also read out one of the particular comments that affected her, it said: "A person who likes music should easily blend into song, instrument, or any music. But seems that she has no interest at all."
Other netizens said her playing was awkward and faulted her for not knowing the chords.
Li was close to tears as she explained to the camera that she was invited on the show only to chat and was not prepared to play any songs with them
"I sit at the keyboard, people scold me. I sit here, people ask me what I'm doing. So should I just sit there [behind the camera]?!" she exclaimed and stormed off.
Although the hosts tried to calm her down and told her she also received a lot of praise in the comments, Li did not regain composure.
"You told me it's a talk show and not a live music session. I am just a classical pianist, I'm sorry I don't know any pop songs," she ranted in frustration off-screen.
She also alluded to being traumatised from the backlash from a previous incident.
After she refused to return onscreen, the host and crew apologised to their viewers and wrapped up the show.
Li has since apologised for her outburst and acknowledged that she needed to work on controlling her feelings
"I should have shown more restraint in the face of such ridiculous attacks against me. I should have just smiled through it. I really regret losing control over my emotions," she wrote in an Instagram post on 10 March.
Li then emphasised that everyone enjoys music differently and asked others not to impose their ideal on others that a great musician must be able to play all kinds of music.
She reiterated that she enjoyed playing classical music and has no interest in playing in a band.
While some netizens said she overreacted, many others came to her defense and said the hosts did nothing to ease the situation
"Have you heard about the stories about an old man, a boy, and a donkey? No matter what you do, people will have something to say. Just ignore and don't take it seriously. Be yourself," said a Facebook user.
Someone else said, "The hosts are the ones with the low emotional quotient (EQ). A bunch of guys who kept pushing aside her feelings and constantly justifying the situation."
"This host puts people on the spot and failed to observe her discomfort. When she got caught up with her emotions under pressure, he commented don't be too serious. How unreasonable!" said another netizen.
You can watch the full video here.
