When you see the word “cancel” followed by your name on social media, it’s probably not a great sign.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to Nas Daily, a popular vlogger who became famous for his one-minute travel videos, last week.
For those who were too busy checking the news for updates on dining in, here’s a brief summary of what happened:
- Nas was accused of exploiting a traditional tattoo artist from the Philippines
- Then, the owner of a social enterprise in the Philippines accused Nas of mocking the local accent during a visit there and asking why Filipinos are “so poor”
- Nas responded saying it was all FAKE NEWS, and that it was the owner’s story that was fake, which is why Nas and his team didn’t pursue it as a project
- The owner refuted this and said Nas was “attacking” her
- Some netizens support Nas, while others called for him to be cancelled
Now, it seems that this saga has another episode.
Nas Daily Responds to Controversy with a 6-Min Video
Nas Daily has issued a second response to the controversy he’s currently embroiled in, but this time in video form:
The video gets right to the point – “Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of fake news about Nas Daily,” he said.
Nas says that before 2017, he hadn’t even heard of the Philippines, and visited the country after receiving many messages encouraging him to do so.
He said he “fell in love” with the place, and pointed out that he even received an award for promoting tourism in the Philippines.
“But there’s a problem,” Nas said.
“Every time we make a video, there is a chance that it is fake. So we have to do research. We go to the internet. We check things on the ground. We talk to the people again and again to verify. And one day, unfortunately we stumbled upon a fake story in the Philippines – which is the Cacao Project,” Nas said.
The Cacao Project is a social venture aimed at equipping farmers for sustainable success.
Last week, its owner Louise De Guzman Mabulo broke her two-year silence over her unpleasant working experience with Nas in 2019.
During his visit, Nas allegedly made fun of the local accent and language, and refused to do a video on Louise’s enterprise in the end because it wasn’t the “perfectly packaged story” he imagined.
Nas, however, tells a rather different tale.
“On paper, it was supposed to be a non-profit that helps farmers. In reality, it’s a for-profit that exploits farmers. We said, we cannot do this video in good conscience. We cannot show you things that we are not confident of,” he said.
Nas denied all the allegations levelled at him by Louise, and showed screenshots of supportive messages from people who were supposedly on the trip with them.
Nas also denied exploiting Whang-od, a famous traditional tattoo artist in the Philippines, saying they worked with the artists’ family directly, and got consent.
Last week, Whang-od’s grandniece, Grace Palicas, said her grandmother was exploited by Nas and his team for a video on Nas Academy, an online learning platform created by Nas.
“My grandmother did not sign any contract with [Nas Daily] to do any academy. Some people are taking advantage of our culture. PLEASE HELP US STOP this disrespect to the legacy of Apo Whang-od and the Butbot Tribe,” she said in a Facebook post.
In response, Nas Academy showed a video of Whang-od affixing her thumbprint on what appears to be a contract, but Grace said that her grandmother didn’t understand the translators.
Nas Daily Working With Lawyers to Deal With Allegations
In the video, Nas said he and his team are working with lawyers to “set the record straight and let the truth come out”.
“You cannot make fake news about our character. That is a red line”, Nas said.
Nas said he plans to open an office in the Philippines, but has officially stopped Nas Academy operations in the country.
It is also working with the NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous People) to ensure that all proper processes were followed when they worked with Whang-od.
While many netizens have shown their support for Nas, others have vouched for Louise.
Kylie Verzosa, Miss International 2016, said she worked with Louise and her family for an episode of Generation Change on MTV Asia back in 2019.
When she visited Louise’s plantation sites and spoke to farmers, Verzosa said they were “very thankful” for Louise and her program.
“Louise provided seeds and educated farmers on how to plant the most sustainable crop for her region, Cacao.
“She provided a program for the farmers that helped Bicol (region in the Philippines). I could attest that her program and her advocacy is in fact true.”
As of Friday, Nas has lost nearly 370,000 followers due to the controversy.
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Featured Image: Facebook (Nas Daily Tagalog)
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