If you happen to be on Twitter, you might have seen the name ‘Janna Nick’ trending. It has been making waves all over the platform and if you’re wondering what’s the reason, here’s a quick summary:
Janna Nick is a young Malaysian actress, singer, and has a checkered past as an online celebrity. She once said that it might be a good idea for celebrities to be infected with Covid-19, something which she claimed was misspoken and apologised for it. On a another incident, she was caught arguing with random Malaysians on Instagram and called one of them “stupid”.
Back to the case, it can be seen from the comments that netizens, specifically K-pop fans or K-poppers, are bashing Janna Nick and Sharifah Sakinah for making fun of SHINee member Kim Jong-hyun’s death back in 2018. The besties were in the saloon together when Sharifah took the infamous Insta story of Janna bleaching her hair, saying that Janna’s hairstyle was rather similar to Jong-hyun’s, who had just committed suicide not too long ago.
While the duo laughed heartily to the joke, it didn’t evoke the same emotion from netizens who felt the complete opposite, accusing both of them for being heartless and disrespectful.
Unsurprisingly, the incident set off a storm which ended up with Janna and Sharifah posting a public apology on Twitter and Instagram. Janna claimed that she wasn’t aware of Sharifah’s remarks and merely laughed along to whatever that was being said. Sharifah supported her statement, saying that Janna had nothing to do with the incident. However, some netizens, still stinging from the apparent disrespect, shot back with a sarcastic “WOW, ni yang mati tu kan? HAHAHAHAHA” on the video’s comment section.
More than two years later, it seems that this incident is back to haunt Janna again. A K-pop fan recently posted the video on Tik Tok, creating a wave of reposts and shares on Twitter that has triggered countless opinions and comments. It is safe to assume that the backlash over the video must have been strong because it has forced Janna to post a video on her Instagram account to address the matter.
In the 11-minute video, she first explains why she’s on the Twitter trending list AGAIN. It turned out that aside from the K-pop controversy, netizens were also unhappy with the poster of her upcoming movie “Selamat Hari X Jadi”. In the midst of providing context for the K-pop incident, she addressed Jong-hyun as “Si Mati” and even brought out an Al-Quran to swear upon it, saying she wasn’t aware that the video was directed to the K-pop star and told netizens to stop slandering her.
She further said that it was okay for netizens to criticise and curse her, but told them to leave her family, mainly her mother, out of it as they have done nothing wrong. She then apologised to all K-pop fans without mentioning how she would help to end the controversy. At the end of the video, she promoted her new movie “Selamat Hari X Jadi”, slated to premiere on Astro First on February 25.
Aftermath
As you can see, netizens were unimpressed with her apology, saying that it lacked substance and was insincere.
lmao this is what janna nick’s apology video sounds like HHHHpic.twitter.com/C011p9iAGI— emi (@whippedforsuh) February 20, 2021
Some called her out for disrespecting Jong-hyun by addressing him as “Si Mati”.
Wtf is this??? She literally addressed him as “si mati” And expect for us to accept the apologies??? calling us “kpop fanatic” And “peminat si mati” Wtf janna nick?? What the actual fuck is wrong with u??? Idfc if janna nick fans sees this tweet, we’re NOT gonna accept ur+ pic.twitter.com/irVyUYccFS— Ohmmmyyyyyyg
Others said they were planning to ‘cancel’ Janna and Sharifah, a nod to an online term known as ‘cancel culture’.
me buka tiktok: janna nick sharifah sakinah
— mut (@notyourmut) February 20, 2021
open ig**:(watch the apology video)
open twt**:(trending)
yup they’re cancelled.
For those who hate us for cancelling janna nick and sharifah sakinah pic.twitter.com/HNvfV6TTzm
— ?????? ?? (@haqimiaqim) February 21, 2021
Janna Nick and Sharifah Sakinah are totally cancelled. We don’t need these type of celebrities in our industry. And it’s not even funny when they both were making a “joke” with someone’s death? lol they are totally out. I’m done. pic.twitter.com/Vq74K4INZL— you (@pothecooter) February 20, 2021
Some even resorted to profanities to make their feelings known. (Our advice? Don’t.)
Janna Nick. Sharifah Sakinah. Ok. WHO THE FUCK EVEN ARE YOU, MOTHERFUCKER?!!?! Ok, first of all, THAT GODAMN BITCH JANNA NICK!!! You said that Malaysia is not thriving because of toxic. I still remember what you said when your f*cking fans told you to make true beauty malay ver.— olivia_hyejoo (@OLIVIA__HYEJOO) February 20, 2021
this is janna nick fs pfftt pic.twitter.com/ZsscwA1QWM
— moni (@brjxium) February 20, 2021
Thankfully, there were some cool headed netizens who called for peace.
First of all, sorry if I hurt anyone feelings. For me, yes Janna Nick & Sharifah Sakinah did wrong. But kpopers can y'all stop come to her or any local artist dm throw hate & use bad words with kpop idols as pfp? Always remember that your attitude will reflect to your idols :'(
— qa (@HaknyeonTheB) February 20, 2021
yes they're wrong, idc if y'all wanna throw hates on janna nick and sharifah sakinah just don't drag their family or relatives(like wishing for their relatives to die)
— min ? (@pwarkjwiss) February 20, 2021
Cancel culture
In simple terms, it’s the act of boycotting public figures for something they have said or done that are considered to be objectionable or offensive to certain parties. However, the concept has always been in fierce debate due to its clashing with certain concepts such as freedom of speech and censorship. Examples of cancelled celebrities include Ellen DeGeneres, who was accused of mistreating staff members and “double-faced”, and J.K. Rowling, whom many suspect to be transphobic. The phrases commonly used to show dissatisfaction are “You’re cancelled” or “called-out”.
What’s your stance on this issue? Comment below and let us know!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and is a compilation of public opinions on the subject matter. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of WeirdKaya.
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Source: Twitter, New Straits Time, IG /@jannanic
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
