TikTok Star Fiona Wang Faces Criticism for Emotional Vietnam Trip Video Amid Slum Tourism Backlash
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TikTok/@vietnam.explores
After sharing an emotional post about her Vietnam vacation, Asian-Australian TikToker Fiona Wang has drawn the ire of fellow netizens. Wang posted a video on Monday, May 8, 2023, in which she cries while her partner comforts her. The video shows a Vietnamese woman rowing their coconut boat and trying to make them happy. In the clip posted Monday on @heyfionawang‘s account, she captioned: Seeing these people struggle is heartbreaking. Before it was deleted, the video had gained over 6.7 million views and 1.2 million likes.
@vietnam.explores Unexpectedly Moved: @heyfionawang ‘s Journey Through Vietnam and the Heartfelt People She Met Along the Way Are you planning on traveling Vietnam this year?✈️ 🎥 @heyfionawang #Vietnam #vietnamexplores #vietnamtravels #vietnam toiyeu #traveltiktok #vietnamecharm #vietnamtravel #asia #poverty #emotional #southeastasia ♬ A Y Mạc x Watch Me – Remix – Rith GuessAdvertisement
An overwhelming majority of TikTokers expressed their irritation with the viral post, explaining that it was crude and condescending. The backlash, however, did not fully satisfy everyone as there were some who supported Wang and thought it was unnecessary and exaggerated. There were some Tikokers who were touched by Fiona Wang’s reaction and sympathized with her, although many questioned its authenticity. Wang’s use of the hashtags #poverty and #empathy was a major point of contention on the internet. Many people thought the insertion of the phrases made the entire film appear “voyeuristic and exploitative.”
Fiona Wang Vietnam TikTok Slum Tourism Controversy
Netizens have taken to social media to express their anger after Asian-Australian TikToker Fiona Wang shared an emotional post about her Vietnam trip. On May 8, 2023, Wang shared a video of herself crying as she is comforted by her partner because a Vietnamese woman rowed their coconut boat and tried so hard to make them happy. Her account @heyfionawang posted the clip with the caption: It breaks my heart to see these people work so hard to make a living in Vietnam. 6.7 million people viewed the video and 1.2 million liked it before it was deleted. The post caused a great deal of irritation among a large section of TikTokers, who criticized it as crude, condescending, and offensive. Some, however, believed that Wang’s backlash was unnecessary and exaggerated. Others sympathized with Fiona Wang and questioned if her reaction was curated to get attention online, while others were moved by it. Wang’s use of the hashtags #poverty and #empathy, which were widely disliked, was a major issue. According to many, the phrases added to the video made it seem “voyeuristic and exploitative.”
People said she was falling prey to “slum tourism” by turning poverty and hard work into a spectacle. Asked about her intention, Fiona Wang said it was an “unstaged” and “very spontaneous” moment for her. The Asian-Australian woman said: Having grown up in Australia, I am privileged to have lived here, but I also understand the struggles. Since my parents are immigrants, I have spent a lot of time in China. The Vietnamese people were never called unhappy or poor in the video by Fiona, which was another criticism of the content. As she explained, she was moved to tears by the contrast between the genuine happiness within the Vietnamese community and poverty and hardship. As TikTokers continued to slam Wang on posts featuring stitched original videos, despite the viral video being deleted, it continued to spark a number of reactions. As Fiona Wang stated in her final remarks to Insider, she didn’t feel the need to justify her intentions or respond to the negative comments since several others supported her.
