SINGAPORE: Singaporean influencer Xiaxue has apologised and issued a clarification video following a backlash over comments she made about Thai and Vietnamese women.
The controversial remarks were part of a response to a viewer’s question during a video posted on the YouTube channel “Ladies First”. The full video as well as abridged versions which were shared on TikTok and Instagram have since been removed and are no longer available to view.
In the original video, a viewer asked, “Why are Singaporean men so attracted to women who are from Thailand and Vietnam? The amount of friends that I have who had their exes cheat on them with these women is astronomical. What do you think they have that we don’t?”
Xiaxue’s response sparked outrage for its perceived disparagement of Thai and Vietnamese women. She had said:
“This is a huge issue. Really, seriously. Is this a thing for younger guys? I feel like maybe for my age people, it’s the I’m here and you’re here thing. Yeah, it really is. Because they are from like, a less well-off country, they may work at some job that is generally frowned upon. Because you’re the one providing for their lifestyle so you get to say ‘I say do what means do what’, ‘I say go where means go where’, ‘I say don’t wear this means don’t wear this’.”
The controversy escalated to the point where a police report was filed against Xiaxue.
Acknowledging the backlash and the police report, Xiaxue posted a follow-up video in which she said that her comments have left a friend’s wife, a Thai woman, feeling “quite hurt”. This prompted Xiaxue to issue an apology and clarify her comments.
“This really affected me because I like and respect Patty a lot, and if a reasonable and calm person like her, who knows me personally, felt attacked, I’d better clarify,” she explained.
She apologised but said her comments were taken out of context. Xiaxue said: “Let me just say that if you are Thai and you felt hurt or attacked, I’m sorry and that’s not my intention. You guys know me. If I have an opinion, I say [it] and I do not apologise. This time round, I’m apologising because I realise that what was posted indeed sounds horrible, but that is because it was taken completely out of context.”
Xiaxue explained that her comments were specifically about Singaporean men who date foreign sex workers, not all Thai or Vietnamese women. “I am not talking about all Thai girls or regular Thai girls at all,” she clarified. “I am specifically referring to girls who are working in the sex industry.”
While acknowledging that she called Thailand a “less well-off country,” she also noted, “There are people who are Thais who are way richer than Singaporeans.” She emphasized the economic hardships faced by many Thai citizens, stating, “It is also undeniable that many Thai citizens are living in poverty or close to it, and many of the girls there realize that if they work regular jobs, they can only earn very little money, and the fastest way to accumulate wealth is to go into the sex trade.”
Addressing why she made such statements, Xiaxue said, “Because I’m answering the audience’s question of why so many Singaporean men end up dating women from Thailand or Vietnam. And my answer, in short, is that many of these girls come to Singapore and work in the sex trade. They want to change their lives and hope to marry a rich guy so they try very hard to please the men, or seduce the men, and the men, in return, love to date these girls because it gives them a sense of superiority that they are the provider for these girls.”
Xiaxue concluded by emphasizing that there are “plenty of decent Thai girls” and not all Thai women who date Singaporean men are involved in the sex trade. She condemned the behavior of some foreign sex workers in Singapore, calling them “trashy and disgusting,” and recalled instances where Singaporean men abandoned their families for these women.
The incident has sparked significant debate online, with many criticizing Xiaxue for her initial comments and calling the incident a stunt calculated to keep her relevant, and others accepting her apology and explanation.
TISG/