Samantha Katie James Explains Her Controversial #BlackLivesMatter Remarks
The Miss Universe Malaysia 2017 title-holder admitted that she did not fully understand the black community's struggles.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 03 Jun 2020, 12:37 PM
Former Miss Universe Malaysia Samantha Katie James has published an apology for her controversial remarks on the #BlackLivesMatter protests in the US
In an Instagram post published last night, 2 June, Samantha Katie James said that she was sorry and admitted that she was out of touch with the black community, hence, not understanding of their struggles.
"I do hear you, [I'm] sorry, I know you're hurting. I know it's unfair. [I'm] not in your shoes to understand this fully," began the Miss Universe Malaysia 2017 in the 200-word statement.
She also offered a rather spiritual explanation to questions about what she meant by "black people chose to be black"
She said, "[You] asked me to explain what I meant by 'black people chose to be black' is that throughout (sic) my journey I have learned that we are more than just this temporary physical body, like an avatar, merely a tiny speck of dust in this vast infinite universe, we tend to overlook that from time to time."
"In our process towards evolution as a human being, on earth. We chose our body, our family, our place of birth, our name, and our lessons from the path we take tailor made for us."
According to Samantha, she had poorly worded her remarks in her controversial Instagram Stories posted on Monday, 1 June, and said she will take it as a lesson.
"If I had been more attentive in how I wrote it, the message would off (sic) been understood as a heartfelt message to all victims of racism be it any colour," said Samantha, who hails from Klang, Selangor.
Before ending her apology, she reiterated that she is a mix of Chinese Malaysian and Brazilian, and was raised by Indian Malaysian foster parents.
Samantha's apology came a day after telling African Americans to take the racial injustice in the US as a "lesson"
It is believed that Samantha made the comments in reference to the nationwide protests in the US that were triggered over George Floyd's death, a black man who was suffocated to death by a white police officer kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes in Minneapolis last Monday, 25 May.
Her comments made her name and "Miss Universe Malaysia" trend on Twitter on Monday and many international media, such as Independent UK, South China Morning Post, and E! Online, covered the story.
A petition calling the Miss Universe Malaysia Organization (MUMO) to strip the beauty pageant queen of her title has amassed over 64,000 signatures as of today, 3 June.
In an interview with Malay Mail, MUMO director Datin Elaine Daly said the organisation no longer has any affiliation with Samantha as she had opted out early of a three-year contract.
Many local celebrities and Internet personalities had also come out to educate Samantha, including Sarawak-born Hollywood actor Henry Golding.
At the time of writing, Samantha's apology post has garnered over 10,000 likes on Instagram
She disabled the comment feature on the post.
You can read her full apology statement here:
