S'pore influencer Novita Lam's ‘Iran this, Israel that’ pun sparks backlash, she apologises

Fitness and lifestyle influencer Novita Lam faced backlash after sharing a video of herself on a run, accompanied by a caption that appeared to reference the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The post, which circulated widely on social media, prompted some netizens to call the joke insensitive given the current geopolitical tensions.

She later posted a video apologising for the incident.

Running video

In the video, Lam was seen jogging outdoors while filming herself.

Text overlaid on the clip included the line: “Iran this. Israel that,” followed by the phrase, “Iran this, Israel that. IRAN 5km and the pain ISREAL” that played on the words “I ran” and “is real”.

The caption appeared to refer to the distance she had run and the physical strain from the exercise.

Screenshots of the post were later shared across social media platforms, including Reddit, where discussions about the content began to gain traction.

The video itself has since been taken down.

Online reaction

Many users criticised the joke as tone-deaf, arguing that referencing countries currently involved in conflict for the sake of wordplay was inappropriate and that it trivialised the suffering experienced by civilians affected by war.

However, not all reactions were negative.

Some commenters said the phrase appeared to be an attempt at humour and suggested that the backlash might be excessive.

Influencer posts apology

Following the criticism, Lam posted a statement on Instagram apologising for the earlier post.

In the message, she said she was “sincerely sorry” for sharing the story and acknowledged that it had been insensitive, especially in light of current global events.

Lam added that she removed the content shortly after realising her mistake and said she would be more mindful of what she posts in the future.

Top images via novitalam/Instagram