Miss Universe Malaysia 2017 Samantha Katie James has sparked an outrage online over her controversial remarks on the Black Lives Matter protests in the US.
Samantha, 25, took to her Instagram Stories on Monday afternoon to declare that the reactions shown by protestors were apparently proof that the “whites (have) won.”
“I don’t live in America and it has nothing to do with me, but to me, it seems like the ‘whites’ won.
“If you’re angry, you respond in rage and anguish and that means it has power over you. They have power over you,” she wrote, along with a caption that read, “foolish humans.”
She is of Malaysian Chinese-Brazilian heritage. She also told African Americans to “take it as a challenge” and claimed that they “chose to be born as coloured (people) in America.”
When another user messaged her directly to ask what she meant when she said people “choose” to be born with a certain skin colour, James responded by saying that our “souls” determine such outcomes.
She also identified herself as a white person in her replies.
“Our souls chose this life, this country, this race, this human form specifically for a reason.
“I always wondered why I was born in Malaysia as a white girl with a Chinese mum and Indian grandparents and a Brazilian dad.
“But I chose this all for a reason, as a soul,” she wrote.
She also hit back at criticisms of her privilege by saying that she had been “insulted all (her) life for being a white girl in a local Malaysian school.”
Social media users immediately slammed James’ remarks and the terms “Samantha” and “Miss Universe Malaysia” climbed to number two and three on Malaysia’s Twitter trends list as of Monday evening. Several people have also called for James’ crown to be revoked by Miss Universe Malaysia in light of her comments.
Below are some of the comments from Twitter;
“Miss Universe Malaysia. More like Miss Gaslighting and Racism,”
“Imagine comparing her white a** being scolded by her headmistress for ‘bringing Western culture to school’ with years of slavery and institutional racism suffered by black and brown folk,”
Protests erupted across several US cities in recent days after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man who died in Minnesota after a white police officer pinned him to the ground and knelt on the back of his neck for more than eight minutes.
A video of the May 25 incident spread like wildfire on social media, triggering anger and unrest as activists took to the streets to speak out against racism and police brutality.
The Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (MUMO) expressed dismay and has distanced itself from former Miss Universe Malaysia.
In a statement, MUMO described the postings uploaded by James, amid the Black Lives Matter protests in America over the death of George Floyd, as inappropriate, offensive, unacceptable and hurtful.
“The views expressed on Samantha’s personal Instagram account are her own personal view and are neither the view nor position of MUMO. Samantha Katie James is not contracted to MUMO and has not represented the organisation since June 2018.
“MUMO stands for a non-racial society and strongly condemns all acts of racism and prejudice anywhere in the world,” said MUMO.
News Credit: The Malay Mail
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