(Singapore) Korean tech giant Samsung has taken down an online advertisement that aired in Singapore that showed a veiled woman hugging a drag queen, billed as her son, after a protest in the Southeast Asian country.
Posted yesterday at 11:17 a.m.
The rights of the LGBTQ community remain a sensitive subject in the prosperous city-state, with conservative values. A law prohibiting sex between men dating from the British colonial era is still in force there.
The ad, which was part of Samsung’s “Listen to Your Heart” campaign for wearables like headphones and smartwatches, showed a Muslim mother showing affection for her son dressed as a woman.
But it has been violently criticized online, a group mobilized against gay rights believing that it was an “unfortunate attempt to promote LGBT ideology within a largely conservative Muslim community”.
This group, called “We are against Pinkdot”, considered it dangerous to normalize homosexuality and the transgender movement in the island.
Malay Muslims represent a significant minority in Singapore where the population is predominantly of Chinese origin.
In response to criticism, Samsung said it was removing the ad from all platforms, as it “could be seen as disrespectful and offensive” by some.
“We recognize that we made a mistake,” the group added on its Facebook page this week.
But leading gay rights support group Pinkdot slammed those who said they were offended by the campaign and got it removed.
“It is not clear so far what these people were offended by – the fact that he has LGBTQ people in Singapore or the fact that we deserve loving relationships, or both,” he said. raised.