HK's Kenny Bee, Eric Tsang distance themselves from Malaysia's Namewee after taking group photo
Namewee (in dark glasses) in a now-deleted photo of himself with Kenny Bee (first from right) and Eric Tsang (second from left).
Hong Kong singer Kenny Bee and Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang have swiftly distanced themselves from controversial Malaysian rapper-actor Namewee after a group photo of them was criticised by netizens.
Bee and Tsang, both 72, were recently in Malaysia as part of the line-up of Hong Kong stars performing at the Wow! Super! Happy 30 Years concert at Resorts World Genting on July 19.
Namewee, 42, took a photo with the pair before the show and posted it on social media on July 19, writing: 'Wishing you a successful performance tonight.'
The photo of the trio together made waves on social media, with several netizens slamming Bee and Tsang for being associated with Namewee, whose full name is Wee Meng Chee.
The hip-hop artiste has been blacklisted in China since the release of his satirical single Fragile in 2021. The track was said to be full of barbed references to Chinese President Xi Jinping and China-related issues, such as the political status of Taiwan and censorship in China.
Bee, the lead vocalist of pop group The Wynners, took to Chinese social media platform Weibo on July 20, sharing a photo of himself with a statement.
'As a Chinese, I have shown patriotism through my strong actions and firmly upheld the dignity of the country and national sentiment,' he wrote in Chinese. 'Recently, during an event in Genting, Malaysia, I took a photo with a certain person without noticing that it caused a misunderstanding.'
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Bee explained it was purely a courtesy interaction on a public occasion, and he was unaware of his background or past words and deeds.
Without naming Namewee in the post, Bee said: 'If I had known his position earlier, I would never have had any contact with him. This incident was an unintentional mistake and does not mean that I agree with his views.'
Tsang, the host of Hong Kong variety series Super Trio (1995 to present) also posted a similar statement on Weibo on July 21, adding: 'Once again, I express my deepest apologies to everyone.'
Namewee has deleted the photo with Bee and Tsang from his social media accounts.
In a now-deleted statement on Facebook, Namewee wrote in Chinese: 'In order not to affect the peace and stability of the 'motherland' as well as the safety of our comrades in Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area, we have removed the previous post and photos.'
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Tsang's July 21 apology on Weibo, while not directly naming Namewee, expressed regret over the 'unintentional mistake' of having taken a photo with 'a certain person' whose background he had been 'unaware of'. 'As a Chinese citizen, I've always been committed to safeguarding our country's dignity and national sentiment,' Tsang wrote in Chinese. 'If I had known (his background), I would never have had any contact with him.' Bee issued an almost-identical apology on his own Weibo account. Tsang, 72, who has been in the show business since the 1980s, is general manager of Hong Kong's biggest television broadcaster TVB, which is expanding significantly in mainland China. Bee, also 72, was lead vocalist of Hong Kong 1970s pop group The Wynners and has in recent years taken on several minor acting gigs produced in mainland China. 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While it is clear that Tsang and Bee have not contravened any law, appearing to be aligned with Namewee whose work mocks China – however tenuous the link – could still potentially cause a rift not just with their mainland business partners and supporters, but also among those in Hong Kong. Ultimately, though, the artistes' main motivation for their apology is essentially 'greed', according to Mr Sang. 'The reason (Tsang and Bee) allowed themselves to be controlled by their entertainment companies and to publish the formal apologies scripted for them, is because of the money they still hope to make off their mainland audiences,' he said. 'This is a choice they must make: Would they prefer to eat standing (by their own principles), or do they want to eat on their knees (at the mercy of others).'
