A renowned Singapore-based property developer has apologised after a TikTok video showed a group of eight attendees in blackface at its annual dinner and dance event.
UOL Group said it “sincerely apologises for any offence caused” after the backlash over a TikTok video shared by user @summer88959.
The TikTok video had by Tuesday morning amassed over 55,000 views. It showed a group of people dressed in Afro wigs, sunglasses, 1980s-style costumes, and blackface, posing for photos.
The event by UOL took place on 14 November at the Marina Bay Sands and the video was shared on Sunday by the user on TikTok.
The video received flak for its insensitivity. However, the Singapore-based company didn’t reveal whether the group posing in blackface were company employees or outsiders and whether any action had been taken against them.
Blackface originated in 19th-century minstrel shows, where white performers used it to depict Black people in a mocking and dehumanising manner. Civil rights organisation in the United States, NAACP, has stated that “in past history, the purpose of blackface was mocking … turning into a figment of the white imagination for entertainment. Blackface invokes a racist and painful history, dehumanising Black people”.
UOL Group later informed local media that it was aware of the incident at the event, themed “The Rhythm of the Night”, and issued an apology for any offence caused.
On TikTok, several users commented on the insensitivity of the people in blackface. “Eight people and not even one person thinks it’s not ok to do this,” one commented.
“This is terrible, not funny. Shame on them and the company if they were still allowed to join the festivities. They need to be held accountable,” another said.
“It’s 2024 already, why are we still doing this?” wrote another user.
In July, a student at one of Singapore’s most prestigious secondary schools faced disciplinary action for dressing as a dark-skinned delivery rider during Racial Harmony Day.
A similar controversy erupted in 2020 when an old photo from 2016 resurfaced on social media, showing a group of Raffles Institution (RI) students in blackface. The photo depicted a student, believed to be of South Asian descent, surrounded by 10 others wearing black face masks.
Nazry Bahrawi, an assistant professor of Southeast Asian literature and culture at the University of Washington was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post that Singapore still needed to “rethink its strategies on multiracialism”.
“Racial Harmony Day will not work if we do not get to the root of the problem,” he said, referring to the annual observance on 21 July, which promotes ethnic harmony in Singapore and commemorates the race riots of 1964 that occurred before the nation’s independence.
The Independent has reached out to the UOL Group for a comment.
