Jay Chou Says He’s Okay To Postpone KL Concert After M’sian Netizens Complain About His Stage Setup Affecting AFF Cup Semis
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou has found himself in a very unlikely spat.
For most of this week, the 43-year-old’s social media has been inundated with comments from Malaysian netizens, many of whom are blaming the singer for “blocking off” 21,000 seats at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
The AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup is a biennial football competition between 11 countries within ASEAN, with matches currently being played at Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The highly-anticipated semi-final match between Malaysia and defending champions Thailand will take place today (Jan 7).
However, on January 4, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) shared that 21,000 seats had been blocked off during the Cup’s duration, as workers had to set up stage for Jay’s January 15 concert at the same venue.
The statement incensed football fans, and many flocked to Jay’s social media to berate the singer.
Some demanded for Jay to cancel his concert, while others spoke on behalf of the entire country, asserting that Malaysia “will not welcome” the singer.
Jay held a concert in Singapore recently.
Things snowballed from then on, and eventually, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had to address the issue.
In an interview with Malaysian media, Hannah explained that Jay’s team had booked the venue way back in 2019. The booking for the AFF Cup was only made in August 2022.
She also explained that Jay’s concert stage installation "involves 14 days involving 500 crew members, as well as 185 international crew members entering Malaysia just for the setup,” which was why it could not be dismantled just for the football matches.
However, things were still heating up online.
Then, on January 6, Jay himself released a statement on his Instagram Story.
Jay has something to say.
"To all Malaysian football fans, I understand how important football is to you guys. I am okay to co-operate and reschedule my concert. But, the main thing is that you should be asking your football association or the venue owners if they’d allow me to reschedule [my concert]. I have no problem with this at all. I just want to be able to sing for my fans. I hope everyone will be able to watch my concert happily,” he wrote.
Don't be disheartened, Jay!
Since then, a large number of comments apologising for the rude comments and urging Jay to continue with his concert have been posted.
“I hope you ignore all the bad comment,” one netizen wrote, while another added that they “would like to apologise on [the] behalf of some Malaysians”.
