In an unforeseen twist to her usual lighthearted content, a teacher who is also an influencer, aka @qiwiie on social media, who rose to prominence for her interactive school-hour videos, found herself at the centre of controversy.
On June 21, the educator issued a public apology for an overstep in her content creation process — the unauthorised use of a student’s bag in one of her videos.
“I would like to apologise to the parents and individuals who were offended by a recent video I posted. I am really sorry.” expressed the teacher who’s amassed popularity through her viral content.
The uproar ensued after a contentious video of Shi Qi going through a student’s bag surfaced, triggering widespread criticism for featuring students without consent. I
In an effort to extinguish the growing flames, she extended her apology on social media and elucidated the nature of the disputed video.
She stated, “There were no students in this video. Unlike the rest of my recent videos where parental consent was asked and granted, I did not seek consent before opening the bags as they were used as props. This is an oversight and my fault, which I deeply regret.”
“The video was sponsored content. It was filmed during break time and I placed the gummies into the bags before the shoot. I looked through the students’ bags, took out a gummy, and ate it.” She released a comprehensive five-page apology on her TikTok, acknowledging her lapse in judgement for using a student’s bag as a prop without due permission.
Contrasting her usual content, filmed with the parents’ go-ahead, Shi Qi recognised her miscalculation and voiced sincere remorse for her oversight.
“I am new to content creating and I am still learning. This is not an excuse. I am honestly very grateful to everyone who has brought this issue up and I will take this as a lesson to be more mindful and conscientious in the future.”
Removed video after 20 minutes
Her video, unfortunately, attracted the attention of vigilant netizens who flagged the inappropriate content.
“I acknowledged my error and promptly removed the video after 20 minutes. It disheartens me that some individuals had downloaded the video and disseminated it online before I could take it down,” she lamented.
Deeply invested in her school and students, the teacher expressed guilt over the unfavourable fallout of this episode.
Expressing her profound devotion towards her school and students, the teacher conveyed a deep sense of remorse for inadvertently drawing negative attention towards them through her actions.
Underlining her role as a teacher, she emphasized the high value she places on the safety and wellbeing of her students, something she doesn’t take lightly.
All TikTok videos taken down, left with apology post
She has also taken immediate measures to remove all videos featuring children from her social media accounts.
Viewing this as a learning opportunity, she conveyed her intent to use this time for self-reflection and reevaluation of her future content plans, aiming to improve and do better for her students.
By 8 a.m. today, the apology statement had drawn 400,000 views, close to 20,000 likes, and over 1,000 comments.
Despite the incident, a multitude of netizens extended supportive and uplifting comments, appreciating Shi Qi’s dedication towards her students and her intent to foster positivity online.
However, some netizens asserted that student exploitation for content creation was not appropriate.
