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The Entertainment Industry, Ris Low & Xiaxue

This is gonna be a long post so sit back, hold on to that mouse and read on...

Let me tell you something about the entertainment industry. Aside from the fame, glamor and money, it is a vicious industry. The amount of backstabbing that goes on is insane! Six years ago, I made the decision to walk away from the industry because I had enough of bullshit. I told myself then that if I stayed on for a day longer, I would have gone insane!!! I walked away swearing I would never host another show again, appear in a print ad, attend an audition or do another commercial.

But wounds do heal and I returned to hosting SKIN ART. The itch to return to the industry began a year ago and I took tiny baby steps to make my return. Instead of just thinking about myself, I had to think about my family. I now watch what I say and do because the smallest error may bite me in the arse!

When I made the decision to include my wife and son in an episode of SKIN ART, I had many sleepless nights prior to the filming of the episode. "What if someone said shit about my family" was the question I asked myself every damn night.

When the 'Body Piercing' episode aired, someone called Jason, a friend of mine, "a loser cant even talk properly with his white decoration under his lips" in a comment. I felt like crap man! To be extremely honest, I almost broke down. People have feelings and I can imagine how he felt. I convinced him to be a part of the episode and he did it out of goodwill. So did he deserve the name calling? Hell no! I took that comment as my failure on my part to protect a friend.

Ok lets talk about Ris Low. From the comments I've been reading on forums, my Youtube video and the media, a majority of Singaporeans do not like her. I can't blame these people because the girl has a whole lot of bad press. The media is having a field day reporting about Ris and the entertainment industry is milking all the hatred people have for her. The entertainment industry is using her and they will spit her out when she becomes stale.

My advice to Ris is to join a good talent management company if she hasn't done so already. Irene Ang's Fly Entertainment would be a good choice. Ris needs a good team of people that will be looking out for her 24/7. A company that would make wise decisions for her and also tell her what to say and not. Its tough enough to be in the public's eye where your every move is watched and scrutinized.

Before Ris came along, there was Wendy, you guys know her as Xiaxue. Wendy was slammed left, right and center. People said a whole lot of mean stuff about her. Look where she is now. I am pretty sure she is the highest earning blogger in Singapore and she's got her own show on clicknetwork. Simply put, she rode the storm and survived. That's exactly what Ris needs to do.

I'll end this post with a little something from Stirred But Not Shaken: The Autobiography by Keith Floyd. I think the late celebrity chef Keith Floyd says it best about being in the public eye...
"Everybody. Women, radio stations, publishers, advertising agencies and after-dinner speaker agents. People with whom I didn't want to be friends befriended me without asking my permission.

Going to the supermarket was a nightmare. If I happened to put into my basket Heinz tomato ketchup, Heinz cream of tomato soup and Marmite - and all these funny things that I like - people peered into my supermarket basket.

'Oh, do you eat baked beans?' they said. Yes, I do.

My private life became public. I'd go to the pub with my mates and people didn't pay any respect to my friends.

So my friends got cheesed off and didn't want to go out with me, because all I'd be doing was signing autographs with a little squiggle of a glass at the bottom.

My friends didn't enjoy that, and I don't suppose your friends would enjoy it, either. I wish this whole issue of fame didn't make me so grumpy, but I need to confront it, so please humour me.

There were times when I'd drive to a pub, park the car and then remain seated in it. I couldn't go in; bizarre though it sounds, I feared walking into the bar because I knew that to do so would involve signing autographs with little squiggles of wine glasses and answering queries about cooking.

So I'd sit in the car, thinking, I have now got a fantastic Jaguar, I've got hand-made shoes, I've got things I've never had in my life before, and I'm frightened to go into a pub. Frightened to go into a pub because I didn't want to talk about food.

When you are famous, people assume that they know you . . . and that even if they don't, then they can soon become your friend. It might sound an exaggeration, but a lot of the time I felt hunted."

To read more, visit this link.
Another extract from his book that mentions opening a restaurant in Singapore can be found here.

6 comments:

  1. Isn't it ironic that we chase fame and fortune and when we have it all we want to run away from it? The grass is always greener on the other side.

    About pple talking badly about your family & friends - I don't think you should care. It's hard not to but you know you can never please everyone and there will always be someone out there itching to shake the boat. You gave it your best shot, you know what your intentions are and your conscience should be clear. Stuff the bullies and carry on doing what you do!

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  2. I guess most people aren't prepared for fame. It can be cruel in the States. Singapore 'celebs' are a lucky bunch. The media here are nice and they don't follow them around.

    It's hard not to care when stuff is said about the people that matter most. I am OK with shit being said about me. Better to be talked about than not.

    ps: I miss you & your daughters!!!!

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  3. Hey bro! There are MANY evil (in terms of words they use) people out there. But actions speaks louder than words. They use hurtful words just to pull you down. Why not use their hurtful words as encouragement but using negative words!! You can never make both parties happy, so do what you really enjoy & whatever that makes you happy cos there's where youre gonna succeed. You'll always have fans, you'll always have haters. Gotta admit the fact, haters hate you because they are jealous of you. We all only have one life, live it to your best. While they do their best by hating, you do yr best in whatever that makes you happy. Yr haters speak hurtful words for free while you are paid doing what you like.
    Take care & be strong! :D
    & i hope your son is doing ok after what happened in school for him today!

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  4. Hi Claire! I think I know 3 Claire's and I'm not sure which one you are. LOL!

    Thank you for the lovely comment. I smiled from start to end. Really, thanks a million!

    I totally agree with you. I've been telling myself that. But sometimes, it is kinda hard. Being an emotional person sure doesn't help either. But I am getting better at hearing and reading crap and not giving a damn! I for one think that jealousy is horrible! And yup, along with jealousy comes hatred for another person. It sucks but it will always exist!

    My son is doing well. He freaked out at that moment and he was cranky all day. His birthday party is this coming Sunday and I'm so excited. My baby boy is finally turning 2! I love him so so so much!!!

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  5. i was about to impressed with your entry until you used wendy cheng as an example of how to stand up when you have stumbled. she is not a good example. she thrives on gossip and makes fun of other people to make a living. on top of that, she attacks people who criticize her and makes sure her army of trolls does the bashing for her online as well. I felt sorry for Ris Low after that fiasco she had on you tube. after all her bad english is not something uncommon in Singapore. She just happen to be Ms Singapore at that time and she was in the limelight. Besides Ris Low did not use other people to gain that spotlight. She was ridiculed and hated for the wrong reasons. Xiaxue on the other hand might have earned fame and money but this does not mean it sits well with everybody. You can look up on google how many people she has hurt too just for her to generate hits.

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  6. Hey Sands...

    I don't know much about Wendy's blog because I don't read it. To be honest, I've only viewed her blog twice. Once to see what the hype was about and the other time was to see what she has on her sidebar.

    I don't wanna judge what people do and say on their blogs. But she does have fans. Or so I think or have been told on numerous occasions. I only used Wendy as an example because she's the only other female personality that gets slammed all the time.

    As for Ris, it does appear that she loves the attention she's getting. As long as she's fine with what's happening around her, it's all good...

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