KUALA LUMPUR: Controversial stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia has told her side of the story after a week since a video poking fun at missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went viral.
In an interview with CNN, Chia said some of the necessary context went missing when the particular segment was taken out and put into a short clip for social media.
She added that she had performed the routine "more than 100 times" for a year and a half without any issues.
"I stand by my joke, but with a caveat: I stand by it completely when viewed in a comedy club. Having this as a clip that gets viewed outside of a comedy club context was risky," she said.
Chia said Singaporeans have long had a friendly rivalry with Malaysia, which was the basis for the joke, adding that she has no malice against Malaysia.
"Roasting" a live audience is a common culture for comedians, she added.
"I've even had Malaysian audience members who would come up to me and tell me that they loved my gig after the show, which shows that they didn't take offence," she said.
In an 89-second video clip posted to one of her social media accounts on June 6, she joked about Malaysia being a developing country that is far behind and was once "abandoned" by Singapore.
Her joke, which also gave an obvious reference to flight MH370 that vanished on March 8, 2014, even drew reactions from several key figures such as Harith Iskander and Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
Intan Maizura Othaman, wife of MH370 crew member Mohd Hazrin Mohamed Hasnan has slammed Chia for her insensitive and tasteless jokes about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.
Around 100 members of Umno Youth gathered near the US Embassy on Jalan Tun Razak on June 9 to deliver a memorandum in protest against stand-up performer Jocelyn Chia.
The group was led by Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.