Singapore—A hotel at Sentosa Cove has been widely lauded for a post it featured on its social media pages earlier this week. W Singapore – Sentosa Cove earned kudos from the majority of netizens for featuring two men enjoying a staycation at the hotel.
However, some Singaporeans Karens were none too pleased by the advertisement.
On September 13, W Singapore put up a post on its Facebook and Instagram pages with the caption, “Celebrate Fab #staycations await at W Singapore!” along with a link to the hotel’s offers and packages.
https://www.facebook.com/wsingaporesentosacove/photos/a.306075872759910/3566545380046260
The post, which showed two attractive men in bathrobes identified as Andee Chua, a local fashion model Hugo Liu, and his Taiwanese YouTuber boyfriend, drinks in hand, went viral, getting liked and shared many times. The hotel’s post was even featured in a write-up on AsiaOne and in a Reddit thread.
LGBT rights groups such as Pink Dot and Dear Straight People also featured the post on their social media pages.
However, Dear Straight People pointed out that a “Karen” had not been too happy with the ad, tagging the hotel and writing, “please note that homosexual acts are still illegal in Singapore. Are you promoting crime? Are you encouraging people to break the law?”
https://www.facebook.com/dearstraightppl/photos/a.1495230733914988/2941298915974822/
Section 377A of the country’s Penal Code, a holdover from Singapore’s colonial past which has yet to be repealed, criminalizes sex between males.
An individual posted a comment on the hotel’s Instagram which said, “why cant be a normal couple being shown? nothing against these guys but being a 5 star hotel there are lots of families with kids whom are going to stay here in the future. how do parents going to explain such situation to the kids?”
But such negative comments paled in comparison to the outpouring of love the hotel received.
DJ and YouTuber Jade Raif didn’t just comment on the post but clapped back at haters.
“Diversity is the lifeblood of success,” one netizen wrote.
One netizen had a different take on the matter, writing that the post is a “Perfect example of why 377A needs to be repealed.”
-/TISG
Read also: LGBT in Singapore — Targeting the invisible shackles that bind the community
LGBT in Singapore — Targeting the invisible shackles that bind the community