TikTok users are trying to cancel Jackson Wang after ‘Islamophobic’ pro-China speech – but what did he really say?

We’re not starting a cult but some followers on Instagram would be nice. Thank you.

Jackson Wang has come under fire for his speech at the London leg of his “Magic Man World Tour”.

At his Jan. 12 concert, the Hong Kong-born singer delivered a seven-minute, emotionally driven speech describing the media as “propaganda bullshit”.

In the first two minutes, Jackson talks about how the media industry is anti-China.

However, he doesn’t give examples or go into detail on what this means.

“F*cking media”

Here are some choice words:

“There’s so much f*cking media talking about bullshit, it’s not like China.”

“If you travel to China one time, you’ll feel like damn, this is a dope place.”

“I just want to say that there are a lot of filter about all these media things that’s why you guys got to be careful about media stuff.”

For the rest of the speech, he goes on about how despite his idol status, he is just an entertainer.

“I’m Jackson, I’m Magic Man… but I’m an entertainer.”

“A lot of times we hype up celebrities […] at the end of the day he’s only a dancer and singer.”

At the concert, his speech was met with applause and cheers from adoring fans.

His patriotic sentiments were also widely praised by Chinese netizens, according to SCMP.

Cancelling Jackson Wang

It has also caused quite a stir on the TikToksphere, albeit not for the same reasons.

Following the virality of Jackson’s speech, several TikTok users have campaigned to cancel the singer.

These TikTok users have been accusing the singer of being Islamophobic.

@jungwoo.sugaringcandy This man needs help. As a Muslim I’m so offended at what he said. #fyp #nct #nctzen #numberonejungwoostan ♬ Phantom – WayV

Islamophobia?

The narrative was further exacerbated when British public figure Oli London claimed that Jackson said the western media were “lying about what’s happening in Xinjiang province with the Uyghur Muslims”.

The influencer has previously gone viral on the internet for once “identifying as Korean” and undergoing numerous surgeries to look like BTS member Park Ji-min.

@olilondon Jackson Wang, do better! 😡 #olilondon #fyp #kpop #bts #btsarmy #jimin #lisa #blackpink #aot #anime #eren #pinoy #filipino #anime #fy #fye #viral #skz #nct #pinoytiktok #trending #blink #pinoycomedy #jacksonwang #got7 #got7forever #jacksonwang ♬ original sound – Oli London

For context, Oli was referring to the mass internment of the Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, where several foreign media reports said that these minorities have been subjected to torture like waterboarding.

According to The Washington Post, detainees also had to denounce their Muslim faith, and were forced to consume pork and alcohol.

In March 2021, the U.S., the UK, the European Union (EU) and Canada have taken joint action against Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Oli’s video gained 2.8 million views, and he went on to make more videos calling for Jackson’s cancellation.

@olilondon Cancelled ❌ #olilondon #fyp #kpop #bts #btsarmy #jimin #lisa #blackpink #aot #anime #eren #pinoy #filipino #anime #fy #fye #viral #skz #nct #pinoytiktok #trending #blink #pinoycomedy #jacksonwang #got7 ♬ suono originale – Thïš.yøû

In some of the videos, Oli raised Jackson’s previous pro-China stance, including the time when Jackson cancelled his partnership with Adidas after the sports brand said that it had no contractual relationship with any Xinjiang supplier, and explicitly required fabric suppliers to not source any yarn from the region.

This came in the midst of international brands like Nike and Adidas claiming they do not source products from Xinjiang.

An H&M statement from 2020 had also resurfaced, where the brand said that it was “deeply concerned by reports from civil society organisations and media that include accusations of forced labour” in Xinjiang.

In an official statement via Weibo, Jackson’s record label, Team Wang, then said:

“National interest is more important than anything. This studio and Mr. Jackson Wang strongly object to all deplorable behaviour that smears and spreads rumours about China.”

What is Jackson really saying, though?

While one side of the internet is raising pitchforks at Jackson, another camp came to his defence.

TikTok creator @victoria.therese, who is of Hong Kong descent, mentioned that Jackson had a point about sinophobia (anti-Chinese sentiment).

@victoria.therese #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Victoria • Spiritual Advisor

Victoria went on to say that there were reasons why there was a “rise in anti-Asian hate crimes” and why “people were calling it [Covid-19] China virus”.

Another creator @justjolin read out Jackson’s entire speech, as a response to a comment on her previous video explaining “anti-Chinese propaganda”.

@justjolin Replying to @jennybautista655 this is Jackson Wang’s full speech. Please tell me where he says he supports genoc!de. #fypシ #kpopfypシ #jacksonwang #olilondon #protectjacksonwang ♬ original sound – JustJolin

Jolin said:

“Sounds to me like whatever interpretation of Jackson Wang’s speech is your interpretation of Jackson Wang’s speech and it’s ok to have your own interpretation. But you’re not allowed to sit there and say that your interpretation is what Jackson meant, unless you are Jackson Wang.”

Both creators, however, talked specifically about Jackson’s speech in London and did not delve further into the issue of internment camps in Xinjiang.

Victoria said that she wasn’t going to “speak too much about the Xinjiang province situation” due to the national security laws in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Jolin did not talk as she is “not informed 110 per cent about what goes on in the camps and neither are you [viewers]”.

She added: “We will never be informed 110 per cent, neither will Jackson or any citizen of China because of censorship.”

Top image from @jacksonwang852g7 and YouTube.