American comedian Jocelyn Chia retaliated after receiving criticism from Malaysians for making jokes about the MH370 catastrophe during her stand-up comedy gig, declaring, “I won’t apologize for being bullied.”
She demanded an apology yesterday on Twitter while underlining how some Malaysians have been threatening and harassing her friends, family, and coworkers.
“Do they really think I would feel like apologizing after getting all this shit from them? I will NOT be bullied into giving an apology. An apology needs to come from the heart, and should not be co-erced.”
Some Malaysians have been brow beating and harassing me, my friends, my family, my colleagues, while at the same time demanding an apology. Do they really think I would feel like apologizing after getting all this shit from them? I will NOT be bullied into giving an apology. An…
— Jocelyn Chia (@JocelynChia) June 18, 2023
Additionally, some online commenters noted that the episode in which Jocelyn Chia offended Malaysians by making jokes about the MH370 catastrophe may either advance her career and broaden her audience or harm it.
Jocelyn Chia responded that although her stand-up comedy bookings in the US were not canceled, the incident did not necessarily harm her career.
She noted that while there was a big rise in the audience due to more people becoming interested in seeing her live performances, it doesn’t necessarily follow that she can appeal to other age groups.
Jocelyn Chia thinks that in order for her career to advance, she must do more than merely respond to the “noises” that are being made against her.
Double-edged sword. Could possibly launch her career into the stratosphere. Or people might actually not find her that funny. There will definitely be people interested to see her live shows now. We'll find out soon enough if her career will take off or crash and burn.
— Lifeless Soulz (@lifelesssoulz91) June 18, 2023
