Jianhao Tan Responds to YouTube Drama; Says It’s Due to ‘Schadenfreude’

You may have come across this tweet on social media lately:

are singaporean youtubers not tired of the same secondary school content from 2013???????? damn

— aj (@JEDD1E) May 2, 2020

Singaporean YouTubers and secondary school content? Who could she possibly be referring t-

Oh, she’s talking about JianHao Tan.

It wasn’t exactly shocking that a Twitter user threw shade at a public figure, because that literally happens every second of every day.

What was shocking though, was that the popular YouTuber actually responded with a series of tweets a day later.

This is also the same group of people who say “Singaporean YouTubers only do types of listicals” but don’t watch anything else we upload lol https://t.co/Okbme85Aoe

— JianHao F² Tan (@thejianhaotan) May 2, 2020

Am I tired of making sketches every week? Maybe. But not because I’m bored but because it’s difficult and requires so much time and effort. But as long as my fans love it, I will NOT stop. And they do; 4 million subscribers, biggest channel in SG 🤷🏼

— JianHao F² Tan (@thejianhaotan) May 2, 2020

And I didn’t get to where I am today by getting hurt by little salty comments from haters who can’t help but to rip on my content cuz they can’t understand why so many people love it.

— JianHao F² Tan (@thejianhaotan) May 2, 2020

So if you really have a problem with my videos, just don’t watch it. I can’t help that I’m trending all the time or that everyone talks about me it’s really not something I can control 🧏🏼

— JianHao F² Tan (@thejianhaotan) May 2, 2020

And this is why I don’t use twitter anymore. A lot of negativity down here. Do people like just come here when they are upset or unhappy?

— JianHao F² Tan (@thejianhaotan) May 2, 2020

It’s fair to say that JianHao was not too pleased with the critical tweet.

Things should have ended there, but then several news outlets (including Goody Feed) reported the online spat, and some YouTubers even posted videos in response to the melodrama.

And when someone disses you on YouTube, it’s pretty much obligatory to make a response video, to which they’ll make a response video, to which you’ll make a- ok you get the point.

Just Wants To Defend Himself

In his video, JianHao says he posted the series of tweets to defend himself and his team because of all the “blood, sweat, and tears” they had put into their work.

He also felt compelled to make a response video because the haters continued to do what they do best even after he defended himself – hate.

Responding to the criticism that started the whole hullabaloo, the YouTuber says his channel has gotten known for doing “listicle videos” and explains that they stick to that style because their “fans enjoy it” and because they “have fun making them and making the fans happy”.

This is why so many people criticise them for making the “same content” over and over again.

But JianHao pointed out that his Titan team makes other content such as short films, podcasts, as well as fashion and gaming videos.

But whether or not he recycles the same content is beside the point. As he asks in his video: If you don’t like his content, why criticise it instead of just not watching it?

Fortunately, the 27-year-old has an answer:

Schadenfreude

For those who don’t know, schadenfreude is a German word that means pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.

Many people don’t know this, but we actually have an English equivalent that means the same thing: epicaricacy.

You’re welcome, Ah Hao.

Anyway, Jianhao’s point is that the reason so many people enjoy criticising, ridiculing, and even abusing public figures is because humans seem to have this innate desire to bring those more successful than them down for their own pleasure.

This is why celebrities and influencers tend to get more hate if they do something stupid in public.

For instance, you probably wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if the Cai Png uncle was arrested for not wearing a mask, but if a popular celebrity was arrested for the same offence, you’d almost definitely head down to Twitter or Instagram to crack some jokes at their expense.

But the thing is, Goody Feed’s YouTube channel is not successful, nor are we in any way a public figure. Why are people still hating on our videos? That day one of us was dabao-ing food at a Cai Png stall and surprisingly, instead of asking for his autograph, the hawker asked for $3.50. What the heck, right?

Here, check out one of our videos below and subscribe to our YouTube channel if you hate us, so that you can give us more hate there:

But moving on.

Jianhao says that this schadenfreude culture is present in schools and workplaces, and called it “toxic”.

But it’s not just that. The local celebrity thinks there’s something else at play here.

Cultural Cringe

Jianhao observed how we’re quick to find fault with our fellow Singaporeans whenever they’re trying to be successful, whether it’s the national soccer team or local YouTubers.

You’ve probably come across people who’ve said things like “I’ll never watch Singaporean YouTubers”.

But why?

One word: Cultural cringe.

Reader: That’s two words

Cultural cringe is an internalized inferiority complex which causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries. A person with a cultural cringe will tend to discount a lot of their own culture and embrace another country’s “better” culture instead.

In other words, we don’t support local talent or celebrities because we’re jealous and we convince ourselves that our entire culture is inferior as a consolation for our “failure” to achieve something in life.

As Jianhao says, “We don’t support creators enough here.”

Be Positive Instead

In his video, the much-criticised YouTuber asks that we be more positive and encouraging when it comes to local creators and talent instead of tearing down with our insults and condemnation.

He also calls upon Singaporeans to celebrate each other’s success because our negative attitude prevents some people from even trying.

Now, I’m personally not a fan of Jianhao’s videos, but you have to admit, he does make some good points here.

However, I should point out that commenters on social media are the worst of humanity and not representative of what most of us think in real life.

And constructive criticism can be a good thing sometimes. If your fans think you can improve on something, there’s a chance that it might just be true. But obviously, this criticism should be delivered in a polite, positive manner, because harsh words will only make someone defensive.

What do you think? Are we too harsh on our local creators?

To stay in the loop about news in Singapore, you might want to subscribe to our YouTube channel whereby we’d update you about what’s happening here daily: