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Samsung Singapore has removed an online video advertisement portraying a Muslim mother's supportive relationship with her drag queen son.

The video was removed from all public platforms on Wednesday (Jan. 19) after the brand received criticism from some netizens.

Video removed

In a Facebook post on the same day, Samsung said that it is aware of the backlash.

It also noted that the video "may be perceived as insensitive and offensive to some members of our local community". Samsung acknowledged that it has "fallen short" in this instance.

It added:

"Samsung believes that innovation and growth are driven by diversity and inclusivity. We will certainly be more mindful and thorough in considering all perspectives and viewpoints for our future marketing campaigns."

Here's the full statement:

Was part of campaign to promote earbuds

According to Berita Mediacorp, the ad was part of Samsung's "Listen to your Heart" campaign to promote the brand's earbuds and Galaxy Watch4 smartwatch.

The campaign featured a series of videos with individuals listening to a message from a loved one through the earbuds while the smartwatch records their heart rate.

The Muslim woman and her son appeared in one of the videos.

Backlash

Some Singaporeans criticised Samsung for openly featuring the tudung-wearing woman and her drag queen son.

One Muhammad Zuhaili, who claims to be be the director of Muhammad Zuhaili Services & Quran Centre, uploaded a statement on his Facebook page on Jan. 19.

The statement, which was written in Malay, directly addressed the video, claiming it has sparked a lot of "confusion" within the Muslim community.

"The video conveys a clear message, that the sanctity of Islam is affected by the concept of 'openness' which does not take into consideration if something is halal or haram," it added.

It also urged the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and other Islamic groups in Singapore to take a "firm stance" on this matter.

Hours later, Zuhaili posted another statement, saying:

"Our previous press release about the video 'A mum's unflinching support for her Drag Queen son | Listen to your Heart' has received a number of reactions. We believe that the relevant authorities have played an important role to resolve this issue.

[...]

We also do not deny any group or individual's rights as we live in a unique country with various religious beliefs and ethnic groups. At the same time, we hope that the entire Muslim community in Singapore can play a part to educate and help the LGBTQ community."

In a separate post on Facebook group "We are against Pinkdot in Singapore", a netizen stated that the video was an "unfortunate attempt to push LGBT ideology into a largely conservative Muslim community".

He also said the video was "trying to mainstream homosexuality into the public sphere".

However, at the end of his post, he wrote:

"We are against the ideology of mainstreaming homosexuality and transgenderism into a conservative society. We extend a hand of friendship and mercy to people grappling with same-sex attraction."

Top images from Facebook & Jeremy Sim/Twitter.