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Co-founder of YouTube channel Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) Sylvia Chan has issued a note of apology.
This comes two weeks after allegations of employee mistreatment were levelled against her by an anonymous Instagram account.
Among the allegations, significant attention was paid to the way Chan had allegedly spoken to an NOC talent named Samantha Tan.
Screenshots of a private conversation between Chan and another employee showed the former calling Tan "f*cking dumb", "f*cking annoying" and a "f*ckface", as well as requesting an "exit strategy" for her.
In her lengthy apology note, Chan acknowledged that she had used "strong language" but clarified that it was not her intent to harm, abuse or discriminate against Tan.
She wrote:
"With regards to Samantha Tan's incident in late 2019 and early 2020, I realized that it truly seemed like I was bullying a subordinate. For this incident, I need to clarify because I will own up for using strong language. But it has never ever been my intention to harm, abuse or discriminate against her or anyone."
Chan explains what led to her use of strong words on Tan
Chan went on to explain why she was so upset back then, to the extent that she had vented to her colleagues about Tan in private conversations.
She said that Tan was the eventual winner of a NOC's reality show, but the talent apparently could not claim the grand prize—a full-time contract with NOC—due to her bond with a government agency.
The co-founder claimed that she only found out about Tan's contract with the agency late into the show's production.
She wrote:
"For clarity, Samantha was a contestant and the eventual winner of NOC's reality show KNOCkout. She performed really well, so much so that she advanced into the finals. However, it was only late into production that I found out she had an existing three year bond with a government agency and would not be able to sign a full-time contract with us, which was the grand prize of the show.
As the executive producer, that really upset me as I felt that everything we did in the show was for nothing, since she would not be able to win the grand prize anyway. In my anger, I made my sentiments clear so that other contestants, who would be able to join us as a full-time content creator, can have the opportunity.
I vented to my colleagues behind the scenes in private conversations with them. Samantha is kind and talented - there are no doubts about that. During the same period, Samantha also messaged me for help as a talent. On a personal level, I offered advice to her on how to be a better content creator as that to me was separate from the competition. Whatever I shared to my colleagues do not represent what I feel about her as a person but towards the situation. Recently, Samantha has graciously reached out to me and made peace."
Tan says talent contract with NOC was signed before filming
In a series of Instagram stories, Tan disputed Chan's claims, saying that she had made it clear to NOC that she had a three-year bond with a government agency.
According to Tan, NOC's lawyers had reviewed her contract back then and "made sure it was okay that [she] had two contracts running at the same time."
Tan also revealed that the eight contestants of the reality show were already given the talent contract with NOC prior to the filming.
Here's her side of story:
via Samantha Tan's Instagram.
via Samantha Tan's Instagram.
via Samantha Tan's Instagram.
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Top image via Sylvia Chan's and Samantha Tan's Instagrams