What is one side effect of having Ronny Chieng host a comedy show in the United States?
You can be sure Singapore gets brought up as part of a punchline periodically.
This is so as Chieng, a Johor-born Malaysian, spent his formative years growing up in Singapore.
'The Daily Show' mentions Singapore
In a recent comedy bit that aired on Aug. 13, the 38-year-old comedian and Hollywood actor was mocked on "The Daily Show" after Singapore won one medal — a bronze one — in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics.
Chieng's association with Australia was also brought up in the process, as the country down under drew attention to the breakdancing sport during the Olympics — for the wrong reasons.
via The Daily Show YouTube
Chieng was presenting an obnoxious alpha aggressive tit-for-tat segment with fellow correspondent Michael Kosta.
The format involved both personalities insulting each other in the name of sports reporting.
Singapore factored into skit
To ruffle Chieng's feathers, Kosta said towards the final gag of the segment: "Finally, as we say goodbye to the Paris Olympics, let's take a look at the final medal count."
An on-screen graphic then showed three countries' medal tallies.
USA with 126, China with 91, and Singapore with one.
via The Daily Show YouTube
Kosta, playing the role of an obnoxious American, said: "The United States has clearly won the Olympics."
He added: "Oh no. What's that? Singapore's only won one medal?
"Hey, Ronny, where did you grow up again?"
Chieng shot back: "Kosta, you're a bigger d*ck than that French pole vaulter's actual d*ck."
This was a reference to Anthony Ammirati, the French pole vaulter who knocked down the crossbar during the Olympics with his manhood, which effectively cost him a medal.
As a retort, Chieng explained that the U.S. ranked 59th on a medals per 10 million people basis.
Grenada was number one, in this case, as it won two bronze medals for men's decathlon and men's javelin throw, despite having a population of only about 127,000 people.
via The Daily Show YouTube
Kosta then said Chieng should pronounce "Canada" properly.
In further retaliation, Kosta posed a multiple-choice question in the form of a sports bet: "Which country that Ronny grew up in will embarrass themselves at the 2028 Olympics?"
via The Daily Show YouTube
The three answers were Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
Chieng had spent time in all three countries, having studied law at the University of Melbourne.
You can watch the bit from the 4-minute 48-second mark.
All media via The Daily Show YouTube
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