Brownface was a hot topic in Singapore for the past few weeks.
Police were called, a well-known DJ & actor had to apologise, a singer was taken off a documentary and a public figure (BBW) was called names and adored at the same time.
Yup, safe to say, no one would ever dare to make that mist-
Wait, hold that thought. My inner BuffLord is telling me something.
WHAT? Nathan Hartono DID IT?
Oh boy, here we go again.
Nathan Hartono Did What?
This is Nathan Hartono.
This is also Nathan Hartono.
Woah, so handsum can.
Unfortunately, not everybody is looking at his fine, delicately-chiselled face. They’re more concerned about his skin tone.
The photo, which was uploaded by the man of the hour himself on 5 August, showed him looking visibly darker.
Netizens felt that he had deliberately darkened his skin to embody Freddie Mercury who is of Indian Parsi descent.
“Have you been living under a rock or something? Brownface is literally all we’ve been talking for the past 2-3 weeks man. Was it really necessary to darken your skin for this shoot just because Freddie Mercury had Indian roots?”
Nathan Hartono Said What?
Initially, Hartono did not respond to the criticisms. However, on 8 Aug, he uploaded a lengthy explanation on his Instagram account.
Now, if you’re not able to read his full post (or just can’t be bothered)…
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Here’s the TL; DR:
- He’s happy that Singapore is having a conversation on racism, privilege and freedom of speech
- The responses to his image were just kneejerk assumptions and reaction
- He didn’t darken his skin, his skin tone is naturally brown
- Be nice to each other
Makeup Artist Says What?
Now, if you don’t believe him, his make-up artist Manisa Tan has testified for him.
She asked for netizens to be careful with their words because, well, words hurt.
Well, that didn’t last as long as the other brownface saga.
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