S'porean TikToker vlogs about 'escaping the haze' on trip overseas, slammed for being insensitive

A Singaporean TikToker has apologised after some of her videos drew flak for supposedly gloating about a holiday.

Many users felt that she was insensitive towards others in context of the haze situation, while others found nothing wrong with what she said.

The video

On Oct. 19, content creator @justjazzle posted a video about her upcoming trip to Shanghai, saying:

"Bye guys! I'm escaping the haze. Good luck to whoever is in Singapore, cause I will not be here anymore, at least for the next five- no, six days five nights."

@zenyukilove29 I understand videos already been taken down by the time this video is released but as a fellow 🇸🇬Gen Z myself…this can’t be the tone we set for the world stage eh? Like can’t be forgetting what was like back in 2015 when the haze was so bad…schools REALLY shut down and everyone had to stay at home? I understand the OP’s POV…I really do but please do read the room, this is not the right time to go about it, the way she delivered is what got people mad at her in the first place. Not everyone has the luxury going to ‘escape’ the haze like this no matter how powerful the Singaporean🇸🇬 passport is…have some consideration for our neighbours around the world especially in Kalimantan (🇮🇩) where they’re experiencing about 3000 PSI of haze! Don’t get me about the apology, sharing about one’s life and gloating like that is two different things. Let’s have some empathy no matter the solution to the haze is when money and power is making people around us lose their conscience… #singapore #haze #justjazzle #genz #smallcontentcreator ♬ original sound - Yukiko Zendaya || 善田屋 雪子

Her post went viral and criticism poured in, accusing her of boasting about her trip while many were suffering from the haze in Singapore and the region and could not afford to take a trip overseas.

Fellow Singaporean content creator and actor Fauzi Azzhar made a video in response, claiming that every time he wanted to complain about the haze, he would "catch [himself]" as "there are people in Indonesia who cannot afford to escape, and the kids there are suffering, actual people are suffering."

@fauziazzharThink about our SEAblings. I think we better than this, Singaporeans♬ original sound - Fauzi Azzhar

He did not name the creator who prompted him to make the video.

"I think it's okay if you escape from Singapore, but if you are using it to [make] a mockery of the people who can't even escape, I think that's a bit tone deaf lah," he added.

@justjazzle later took the video down, but it was quickly re-uploaded and shared by other users.

Defense

In other deleted follow-up videos that she subsequently posted, @justjazzle expressed confusion and annoyance at how her video had been received.

"Walao eh, why am I getting so much hate for me posting about breathing fresh air? Like chill, I'll be back in like five days," she said in one instance.

One user responded that her delivery was the problem, as it sounded like she was "gloating".

She replied, "I mean, okay, if it came across as [gloating] then I'm sorry, deadass (seriously) when I made that video I was literally just excited to breathe fresh air.

"Like, it's not that deep."

Apology

She later posted an apology the same day.

She claimed that she did not think her video would have came across as insensitive, and that she would not have posted it otherwise.

The reason why she did not think so, she explained, was that she was "uneducated in terms of current affairs."

"I don't really read the news, and I don't keep myself up to date, which I should be and I should have, especially commenting on a situation like the haze," she admitted, conceding that it was nevertheless "not an excuse".

She added that she realised she was in a "position of privilege" to be able to travel.

"And I did do some research on how the haze is affecting other countries. And yes it is really bad. I would never have made a video, like, looking down on other people at all. Like, that's just not me as a person...

Thank you guys for letting me know that I sounded very insensitive. Like, I don't want to be that kind of person. So I'll take this as a learning lesson to be more careful with what I say."

Fans provided support in the comments, saying that her detractors were simply being sensitive.

Some also criticised Fauzi for responding to her video and drawing attention to her.

But others did not relent in their critique.