KUALA LUMPUR – Local badminton fans are out to “cancel” some of their favourite shuttlers over them liking an Instagram post by Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
The post which highlighted the message “I stand with Israel” sparked the emotions of fans as the post was liked by mixed doubles shuttler Goh Soon Huat and women’s doubles player Teoh Mei Xing.
But they have since unliked the post almost immediately.
Several tweets were shared by fans on X (formerly Twitter) as they vented their frustrations and disappointments towards the Malaysian shuttlers for seemingly supporting the Israeli regime.
An X user, @jaiProtector said no apology could fix what the shuttlers did.
“You live in Malaysia, it’s clearly stated in our passports that we are not allowed to travel to Israhell.”
He also posted that it was unbelievable to have to remove their support for someone they used to admire.
“Never in my life would I have thought that there are days I would cancel people that I used to support the most. Shame on you all,” the fan commented.
One more fan who goes by @farahaz_97 expressed disappointment and said they would no longer support any game the shuttlers competed in.
“As a badminton fan, this is so disappointing. But it’s your voice and it’s your choice.
“Then, it’s also my voice and my choice to not support any game that they play even though they play for Malaysia.”
“BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) can remove Goh Soon Huat from the Malaysian badminton team now,” remarked @iamajayrahman.
Following the backlash, Mei Xing posted an apology on her Instagram and clarified that she accidentally liked the post without “clearly looking at the content”.
“There is a misunderstanding about me liking a post supporting Is***l, it was a mistake that I didn’t read properly about the content.
“I would like to apologise for my mistake. I just want to focus on my badminton,” Mei Xing said.
Malaysian shuttlers were not the only ones performing such a blunder. Indonesian mixed doubles shuttler Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja also faced criticism from fans for liking a post by Gadot.
Gloria’s representative posted an apology, in a reply to a fan, explaining that the shuttler has never supported the Israeli regime.
“On behalf of Glo, I would emphasise that Glo has never supported the conflict being caused by Israel and she has accidentally liked the post as she was a fan of Gal Gadot after watching Wonder Woman.
“Gloria has unliked the post and she conveys her apology to all her fans for the inconvenience caused,” said the representative. – October 30, 2023