Indonesian YouTuber Edward Halim apologised after facing online criticism over remarks about a Thai transgender shop worker featured in a travel video filmed at a clothing store in Bangkok.
Halim shared several videos documenting his trip to Thailand on his YouTube channel this week. One video showed him visiting a clothing shop at Platinum Fashion Mall in the Pratunam area, where a transgender Thai woman was working as a salesperson.
In the footage, Halim turned to the camera and said in Indonesian, “Be careful when coming to Bangkok, as a woman can be a man, and she is one of them.”
The salesperson did not understand Indonesian and continued assisting Halim and his female companion as usual.
The video prompted criticism, particularly from Indonesian social media users, who accused Halim of mocking the worker and using her gender identity as a joke.
Following the backlash, Halim issued an apology to the LGBTQ+ community, Thai people and the shop worker featured in the footage.
“Hello everyone, with this post, I want to apologise to the LGBTQ+ community and the people of Thailand regarding my remarks in my previous content. I acknowledge that this is entirely my fault and I am using this as a valuable learning to re-evaluate my actions,” he said in his statement.
Halim also acknowledged that he had filmed the worker without her consent. He said he had removed that section of the video.
The shop and the worker have not been publicly identified. It remains unclear whether the worker has seen the footage or commented on the incident.
The case gained attention among Thai social media users after the Facebook page World Forum ข่าวสารต่างประเทศ reported it on October 8.
Some Thai users criticised Halim’s conduct, while others praised Indonesian social media users for raising awareness about remarks they considered discriminatory towards transgender people.
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