Body shaming or not? Singaporeans clash over TikToker's video on food delivery
With over 33,000 followers and 1.2 million likes, Faris Samri's skits are a hit on TikTok. But his video on food delivery has left Singaporeans clashing online — asking whether his brand of comedy has crossed the line.
In a now-deleted video titled If Food Delivery Riders Had No Filter, the 29-year-old, playing the role of a deliveryman, said to a customer: "I one day see you three times already leh, ah pui [sic]."
According to Wiktionary, ah pui is a Singlish expression for a fat person, often used in a negative way.
While the customer, who was not shown on-screen, argued that he has been working out and "got nothing to lose", Faris said: "You got a lot of weight to lose.
"Wah, if I'm your lift right [sic], I confirm cry already," he added.
The 40-second clip sparked outrage in many netizens, who called it out on Friday (Nov 5) for encouraging body shaming — which is the action or practice of expressing humiliation about another person’s body shape or size. This included rapper Subhas Nair, who was charged in court on Nov 1 for attempting to promote ill will between religious and ethnic groups.
Your resident bodyshamer, @frsmri
— ROB THE RICH (@subhas_music) November 5, 2021
Some people will do anything for attention. On top of the vile, unfunny jokes, this is a gross misrepresentation of food delivery riders and the honest, hard work they do. pic.twitter.com/zeKpaoeeRP
i am so angry at how people/influencers like faris samri uses someone else's pain and sufferings and make a joke out of it and when he is being called out, he just "on to the next video". i am not even asking for apology because that's easy. he is not even taking accountability.
— doda (@dodziiee) November 7, 2021
Other netizens defended Faris, with some calling the rapper to "learn to take a joke".
Acknowledging that the video "has caused more harm than laughs", Faris wrote on Twitter: "Vid [sic] removed. On to the next video."
Vid removed.
— Faris Samri (@frsmri) November 6, 2021
Caused more harm than laughs.
On to the next video.
In February 2020, local influencer Wendy Cheng (better known as Xiaxue) faced similar backlash after she spoke out against glamourising people who are morbidly obese.
