Local blogger flamed for critical posts of hubby's friends' wedding
Blogger Juli Phang flamed for dissing a wedding she attended, including criticising the bridal car decoration, but she says: I never meant to cause harm
She called the bridal car decoration a "chunk of dried grass" and said the bride was "drowning" in her gown.
Local beauty blogger Juli Phang also claimed people were looking at her, and not the bride, when she was in the bridal car.
She criticised the bride's hand bouquet and posted a photo of her own wedding, with the caption: "I love my hand bouquet."
Ms Phang's post on micro blogging site Dayre about her husband's friend's wedding got her lots of attention.
British tabloid Daily Mail Online published it two days after she wrote it last Saturday. Other sites, such as UK's Mirror Online and US site RadarOnline, also picked up on it and before long, the post became viral.
The story got a tsunami of reaction from the online community, with netizens labelling her "black-hearted" and "evil". American entertainment website RadarOnline.com called her the "world's worst wedding guest".
One netizen commented on Daily Mail: "What a completely 'empty' and pointless human being this woman is. Nothing of any value to say at all."
Another wrote: "Well, isn't she vile. Sounds like a jealous bitter person to me."
Ms Phang, known to her followers as Juli "Bun Bun", has kept a low profile since and removed her Dayre entry. She also removed her Facebook page and privatised her Instagram account (@bunbunmakeuptips), which has over 8,000 followers.
In an e-mail interview with The New Paper yesterday, she expressed regret and assumed full responsibility for her words.
She said: "I started the post wanting to point out how unassuming couples may not get the full value of what they paid for. I never meant to cause harm to anyone.
"But it was my mistake. I chose to publish it and I regret it. I didn't expect them to read it.
"When I realised the potential repercussions it could bring to the couple, I took it down in less than a day."
SORRY
When asked how she felt over the reactions she got from her post, she said: "Initially, I was very affected. It's hard not to, especially when the incident has escalated this far.
"But I knew I needed to take responsibility for what I wrote. Mostly, I felt sorry about how my actions have affected the couple, especially towards the bride.
"I have reached out to the couple and their families to apologise. I regret my actions, I have learnt my lesson and wish to move on."
Ms Phang, who is a blogger under social media marketing agency Nuffnang, shot to online fame in 2013 after her photo diary of a botched facial treatment went viral.
Miss Amantha Koh, talent and community lead of Nuffnang, told TNP: "Nuffnang does not restrict what our bloggers write as long as it's not racially motivated or hateful.
"We trust that they know the consequences of their words and we provide consultation when they need it.
"In the case of Juli, she realised the spiralling consequences of her actions and immediately removed her post to remedy the situation."
Social media experts agree that an apology, private or public, would be the best way for Ms Phang to move on.
Social media and international communications expert Lars Voedisch said: "Whether you are a celebrity online or offline, you should respect the couple as you are invited to celebrate their special moment.
"She should be aware that she is in the limelight and of the consequences her blog post has.
"What she did was very disrespectful and distasteful behaviour.
"Besides a personal apology to the couple, she should also apologise on her blog. Then, she can move on."
Dr Michael Netzley, academic director of executive development at Singapore Management University, said: "With everyone walking around with a mobile phone in their pockets these days, one should not expect complete privacy.
"It's the ethical angle which got Juli into the news as she was a guest at a very special and personal moment in somebody's life and it is in extremely poor form to do what she did.
"It's up to her if she chooses to apologise privately or publicly, depending on why she made the post. If her goal is to be more popular and get more followers, then she can apologise publicly and get more coverage out of it.
"Regardless, an apology is the only good form of response."
Prominent local blogger Xiaxue, whose real name is Wendy Cheng, told TNP: "I can understand what she is going through as she wrote those things thinking that the couple wouldn't read the post.
"It wasn't meant to be a personal attack. Sometimes, we just want to talk openly about our feelings.
"However, as a blogger, she should not have done it as attending a wedding is a very personal thing and it could hurt the couple's feelings.
"There is a chance that whatever you say can be traced back to you. I am sure the couple also feel embarrassed about the whole fiasco."
What she posted
Note: Ms Phang refers to her husband as “Mr Mode”.
BRIDAL CAR
"Look at the bridal car. I mean, it's not that I have sky-high expectations (just a bit high but not sky-high) but this... What's that chunk of dried grass doing there, huh?"
BRIDAL GOWN
"The bride was struggling with her gown the whole time. She's short like me and was drowning in her gown because her bridal shop didn't alter the length for her. I don't know if she didn't mind it, or didn't bother or refused to get it altered."
IN THE LIMELIGHT
"Oh, by the way, we are in the bridal car. You know, when people see a bridal car, they will naturally want to look at the bride. I told Mr Mode (Phang's husband) people kept looking at me."
BRIDAL BOUQUET
"What is this? I thought this is for the bridesmaids who make their entrance before the bride like in some weddings. Apparently this is the hand bouquet for the bride."
She then posted a photo of her own wedding, with the caption: "I love my hand bouquet."
BANQUET EMCEE
"Why is the emcee a member of the restaurant staff?!"
WEDDING DINNER
"The food was pretty alright. The dinner ended before 10pm - rare for a Chinese wedding dinner."
SHORTCHANGED
"I'm not suggesting superiority over another couple's decision. Please don't get me wrong. I'm just sad that the groom has so much burden to bear. I had a lot to bear and I know how it feels. I'm also sad that they got ripped off!"
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