A Famous YouTuber issues an apology to her Filipino viewers after uploading a racist video

YouTuber Tzuyang, with a substantial following of over 9 million subscribers, has issued a formal apology to her Filipino viewers in light of a recent racism controversy. The contentious video, which prompted the apology, has been taken down.

On February 5, Tzuyang conveyed her sincere apologies through her YouTube community. She acknowledged the issue, stating, "I want to express my genuine apologies to our Filipino viewers and subscribers for any distress caused by the video posted on January 28, featuring a collaboration with a Korean comedian. I have since removed the problematic content."

The video in question was a mukbang collaboration with South Korean comedian Kim Ji Young.

In the video, Tzuyang welcomes her guest, Kim Ji Young, who acted like she was a Filipino subscriber. Tzuyang stated she wanted to engage in a collaborative Mukbang with one of her Filipino fans. Tzuyang then introduced her guest, Kim Ji Young, as "Nitong" from the Philippines. Acting as Nitong, Kim Ji Young conversed in Korean with a noticeable awkwardness, stating, "My name is Beautiful Smile Nitong." She portrayed Nitong as someone who relocated from the Philippines to marry a Korean farmer, driven by her desire to experience life in Korea.

Kim Ji Young has previously appeared as the Nitong character on various platforms, including the YouTube channel 'FokCine' and the KBS2 entertainment program 'Gag Concert.' However, Kim Ji Young also received backlash for her racist depiction of Nitong in the past.

Filipino netizens who encountered the controversial video expressed their displeasure, labeling it as "racially discriminatory content." Many Filipino netizens expressed disappointment and anger stating, "This isn't funny...As a Filipino, there's no such name as Nitong in the Philippines...You should've done better research before pretending to be Filipino and using the Philippines flag...this is low and this is blatant racism... If you want to have a Filipino guest, you should invite a real Filipino and eat Filipino food," "At first, I was excited when you said it would be a Filipino guest. But then it hurt my feelings when I found it was someone mimicking and making fun of the Filipino accent. You shouldn't make fun of our accent," and "She doesn't even look Filipino. She just made her skin darker. So does she mean that she thinks darker skin = Filipino?"

Likewise, Korean online users drew attention to potential consequences, remarking, "Imagine someone else was depicting global stars such as Son Heung Min and BTS with an exaggerated Korean accent."

Tzuyang, expressing regret, stated, "I hold deep respect for the Philippines and am genuinely thankful for the many viewers in the Philippines." She acknowledged her oversight, admitting, "I did not anticipate that this content, created with different intentions, could cause unintended hurt."

Furthermore, she pledged to incorporate feedback, emphasizing, "I will carefully consider and be more mindful when creating content in the future."

Korean netizens commented, "I can't believe they still think that old humor from the 90s is funny," "what's wrong with Tzuyang," "That's low," "This is so shocking. Tzuyang has a lot of overseas viewers and I can't she didn't think that was racist," "I knew Tzuyang can be thoughtless but this is another level," "When I saw the video yesterday I was so shocked," "She was doing mukbang for Vietnamese foods, why did she invite someone pretending to be Filipino?" "Tzuyang was so thoughtless and rash to film something like that," "Did she really think it was okay?" "They weren't even eating Filipino foods." and "I'm shocked that lady was a Korean comedian."