Netizens React to Local Actress’ Unnecessary Take on The Storming of U.S. Capitol

By Ameera Rosli  •  in Features
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US Capitol: Police clearing pro-Trump mob from building after rioters stormed halls of Congress - CNNPolitics
source: CNN

In case you missed it, the internet exploded when the U.S. Capitol Building, said to be one of the buildings with the highest-security in the country, was bombarded with armed, semi-naked Trump supporters.

Due to the ever-growing controversy surrounding soon-to-be ex-POTUS Donald Trump’s vote recount, his supporters barged into the building and started taking photos, looting and thrashing the facility as a form of demonstration.

Possibly one of the worst security breaches of all time, this incident shocked the nation. A woman was even fatally shot in the back by police which caused an even bigger uproar within the community.

Photos of U.S. Capitol as Trump supporters breach -
source: The Washington Post

When this riot took place, it saturated the internet timeline, even reaching Malaysian Twitter.

Malaysians are no strangers to U.S. politics – many of us were vocal and self-reflective during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that happened last year – so it’s no surprise that many netizens had strong opinions regarding the storming of US Capitol. However, similar to the BLM movement, some Malaysians had less intelligent things to say.

We’re not sure why local celebrities are drawn like a moth to a flame when it comes to political matters surrounding the United States. Last year, Malaysia went international when ex-Miss Universe Malaysia spouted racist and ignorant comments revolving the BLM movement.

This year, despite it just being the first week of 2021, a local actress decided to give her own two cents on the riots at the Capitol. To put it bluntly, her take on the situation wasn’t very bright, which can also be said about her career as an actress.

Take a look at what she had to say:

Yes, she really said that.

Not only were these comments completely out-of-the-blue and frankly, erroneous, but it was tinged with bias as she is an active member of the film industry. Praising Malaysia’s censorship board, which has been subjected to numerous criticisms over the past few years due to its rigidity, many netizens found her statement irrelevant and ignorant.

Quick to correct her was Twitter user @notsoaidil, previously known as @sunfloweraidil, who is a distinguished advocate for sustainability and animal rights in Malaysia.

Here is his response to the actress:

Despite the eloquence of @notsoaidil’s replies, his adamance on educating her on the issue and having taken all 5 minutes sitting on the toilet to type that out, the actress apparently was not having it.

Here’s what her brain could manage as a response:

This interaction sparked a rapid slew of backlash for the actress. Many were angered and disappointed by the way she handled the situation and honestly, we can’t blame them.

Not only was the comment completely weak, unnecessary and uncreative (similar to her project Kimchi Untuk Awak, ironically) but it showed a lack of regard towards a topic that she only knew the surface level of.

Maybe she needs to take a page out of her own book and practice what she preaches?

The actress, despite being told multiple times to sit down and be humble, continued on a rampage and responded to many other netizens on her Twitter account.

However, netizens aren’t the only ones commenting on this. Local actor, Redza Minhat, jumped into the conversation as well. He even added a sharp jab to the actress’ previous controversy where she charged her fans RM50 for birthday wishes.

JUICE has covered the ebbs and flows of Malaysian cinema countless amounts of times. From our article detailing all the problematic elements of a local drama, to our criticism of the FINAS CEO Ahmad Idham and his notorious film, Pencuri Hati Mr. Cinderella, we’re fully aware that there are issues that need to be resolved.

The actress plucking the film The Purge as a bad example of poor censorship as a means to boost the Malaysian censorship board is a far-fetched connection.

It has been proven that Malaysia’s box office movies mostly contain unsavoury themes that pertain to rape (Suami Ku Ustaz), domestic abuse, gangsterism, drug abuse (KL Gangster) and romanticisation of the elite class (The House). These elements serve no purpose in driving a message forward, but it’s only used to sensationalise a film, making it a cheap gimmick.

Despite that, films that contain these troublesome elements usually reap more than the sow at the box office while films that actually reflect the current issues in Malaysia such as Jagat and Babi were quickly shelved or even banned in the country.

A recent round-table video that went viral on Twitter due to its refreshing honesty and sharp commentary on the current climate of the film industry is a perfect summarisation of all the problems that have been stifling the progress of local films.

In the video, heavyweights Sharifah Amani, Amerul Affendi and Nadiya Nissa dish the details and expose the underbelly of the film industry, revealing some insightful comments and suggestions for the industry to improve.

Here is the video for your perusal:

The body that governs the film industry of Malaysia, FINAS, has to step up to the plate. Not only are the rigid guidelines muting important stories from the community that need to be told but it’s also limiting creatives from doing what they do best – being creative.

Society, for some reason or another, values influencers and Instagram-famous actors and actresses. Janna Nick, being an actress with 6.1 million followers on the aforementioned platform, happens to be at the centre of attention.

For her to be criticising the U.S. film industry and its influence on the people, while ignoring our own bias and outdated censorship board, is like creating your own Oscar award to give to yourself. Or in Malaysia’s case, charging creatives to be creative.

THE PURGE-ELECTION NIGHT 2016 | armrestrenegade

The Purge is not a dystopian, apocalyptic work of fiction. It is a commentary on the country’s susceptibility to violence and oppression towards the lower classes, albeit exaggerated for theatrical purposes.

However, the films that are complete reveries of the human mind and serve no purpose or substance for our community can be seen on Janna Nick’s IMDB page.

As a way to end this article on a light note, here are some funny memes surrounding the actress’s short-lived attempt at sounding smart:

Here’s @notsoaidil’s closing statement:

So, the take-away from this is, if you’re ever displeased with someone on the internet, there’s only one correct way to respond:

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