"F--k You M'sia" — S'porean Standup Comedian Jocelyn Chia Makes Harsh Jokes About MH370
"What? Malaysian Airlines going missing (is) not funny, huh? Some jokes don't land."
By Aqasha Nur’aiman — 07 Jun 2023, 11:29 AM — Updated 12 months ago
In the age of the Internet, many comedians have gained popularity from posting short videos of their skits online
Inspired by the likes of Bretman Rock, Uncle Roger, and Brittany Broski, one Singaporean has likely overstepped the invisible line between harmless and distasteful jokes when she brought up Malaysia's economic development and the MH370 tragedy during her set.
Singaporean comedian Jocelyn Chia recently performed a standup routine at Comedy Cellar, a comedy club in Manhattan, New York.
The comedy club posted a one-minute clip of her performance on their TikTok account, in which she made comments about Malaysia.
Chia first opened her set by sharing the history of Singapore to the audience
"After we gained independence from the British, we were a struggling little nation. In order to survive, we formed a union with a larger, more powerful country, Malaysia," she said.
A member of the audience then whooped loudly after hearing her mention Malaysia.
Chia then proceeded to ask them whether they were from Malaysia or Singapore.
After the patron answered with Malaysia, the comedian replied, "F--k you, a--holes."
She told the patron that when Singapore was removed from Malaysia, their prime minister cried on television because he "thought they wouldn't survive without Malaysia".
"40 years later, we became a first world country. And you guys, Malaysia? What are you now? Still a developing country," she mocked.
"F--k you, Malaysia," she added.
After dissing on Malaysia's developing nation status, Chia continued by making harsh jokes about missing flight, MH370
She joked about how Malaysians had never visited Singapore in 40 years, and went on to impersonate Malaysia by saying, "Yeah, I tried but you know, my aeroplanes cannot fly."
"What? Malaysian Airlines going missing (is) not funny, huh? Some jokes don't land," she said.
"This joke kills in Singapore," she added.
The Malaysian patron then interrupted and said they were going to leave a bad Yelp review, to which Chia replied, "That's okay, they don't have Internet."
Netizens were outraged by Chia's insensitive jokes and left their thoughts in the comments section
One user commented that Chia was trying hard to be Uncle Roger.
"She thinks she's Uncle Roger, just wait until he roasts you back," they wrote.
"Is this even comedy? Or is it (a) personal attack?" asked another.
Another user also questioned whether or not her performance can be considered a comedy routine because she was only using harsh words to "get attention".
"Hope she realises what she just did," they wrote.
Meanwhile, one user praised Chia's set and laughed at her cackle, to which she replied, "Yes, I'm a black woman at heart."
Her reply is problematic in nature as taking what is 'cool' from the African American community without being one is widely regarded as disrespectful.
Falsely claiming a racial identity can be seen as cultural appropriation, stereotyping, and undermining authentic experiences of actual individuals within the community who face discrimination and systemic issues.
