Uncle Roger comedian responds to critics of his pulling of video shot with food vlogger who is critical of the Chinese government

Nigel Ng, the Malaysian comedian whose alter ego is Uncle Roger, says in YouTube video he just wants to make people laugh, while respecting different cultures
On Instagram he denies bowing to anyone, following criticism of his decision to pull a video made with food vlogger Mike Chen, who has anti-Beijing views

YouTubers

Adam Wright

Published: 5:45pm, 18 Jan 2021

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Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng has said he makes “zero dollars from Chinese social media” after coming under fire for pulling from the internet a video featuring another YouTube star who has been vocal in his criticism of the Chinese government.

Critics had accused Ng – best known for his Uncle Roger character, seen in several YouTube videos – of bowing to pressure from China last week after a video he made with vlogger Mike Chen from the Strictly Dumpling channel disappeared from his YouTube channel.

In a new video posted to YouTube on January 16, Ng is seen dressed as his alter ego Uncle Roger and saying: “I hate drama … I just want to make funny videos.

“I don’t want to be involved in anything else – no politics, no drama. Uncle Roger love making people laugh. It’s about entertaining people, no matter where they come from, and respecting everyone’s culture.

“For the record, Uncle Roger make zero dollars from Chinese social media so to see my niece and nephew say I like RMB more than MSG really break Uncle Roger heart.” RMB is an acronym for renminbi, China’s currency – also called the yuan.

He then thanked his followers for their support. The same day Ng also addressed his critics on Instagram, posting: “I’m not bowing down to anyone. Especially not to all the hate comments I’m getting. So if you‘re thinking of sending me nasty things, save your time and just hit the unfollow button.”

Nigel Ng's post on Instagram addressing his critics. Credit: Instagram

Last week’s drama began when a video titled “Uncle Roger Reviews Ugliest Dumpling Ever” was removed by Ng, who said he had not been aware of Chen’s political leanings nor his previous comments about the Chinese government when he filmed it with the food vlogger. He admitted on Weibo – China’s Twitter – that the video had created a “bad social impact”.

“My staff and I would like to express our sincerest apologies to everyone,” Ng said. “Considering the seriousness of this issue and the negative impact of the video itself, we discussed internally and decided to take it down from all platforms.”

Ng added he was unaware of Chen’s “past incorrect remarks about China” before they collaborated. He promised to be more careful in future.

Malaysian comedian and YouTube star Nigel Ng. Photo courtesy of Nigel Ng

Chen later told the Post: “I think that what happened here is the result of the [Chinese Communist Party’s] censorship, even if it wasn’t direct censorship … I hold no animosity towards Nigel for what he did, because it’s hard to stand up to the CCP’s tactics.”

Ng shot to fame last year when a video he posted to YouTube criticising a BBC recipe for egg fried rice went viral.