KUALA LUMPUR: Former Miss Universe Malaysia Samantha Katie James has apologised for her controversial remarks about black people, which has drawn vast criticism.
In an Instagram story, she said, “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.”
Katie James also explained what she had meant in her controversial post that had outraged social media users around the world.
She said, “Throughout 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.”
She further said, “In our process towards evolution as a human being, on earth, we choose our body, our family, our place of birth, our name and our lessons from the path we take tailor-made for us.”
She said, “To clear the air, yes, I did poorly articulate myself writing ‘black people chose to be black’ and ‘to the black people, relax, take it as a challenge, it makes you stronger’. If I had been more attentive in how I wrote it, the message would off been understood as a heartfelt message to all victims of racism be it any colour (sic).”
“I understand a lot of people have shared that I could have phrased my content differently, and I accept that I am responsible for my words. I will make sure I articulate my speech in a proper manner,” she added.
Since saying on Monday (Jun 1) that black people “chose to be born as a coloured person”, the former pageant winner has been heavily criticised and ridiculed.
Samantha Katie James further said, “To the black people, relax, take it as a challenge, makes you stronger.”
Malaysian-born English actor Golding also condemned her comments. The organisers of the Miss Universe Malaysia contest also slammed the comments as “inappropriate, offensive, unacceptable and hurtful”.
More than 80,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Samantha Katie James to be stripped of her Miss Universe Malaysia crown, which she won in 2017, before competing internationally.
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