KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Just under two weeks after losing her husband, Indonesian singer Bunga Citra Lestari (BCL) soldiered on to carry out her duties as a judge on a reality singing competition.
But one song cut too close to the bone when Indonesian singer Judika began singing Tak Mungkin Bersama at the Result & Reunion Show Indonesian Idol X at Studio RCTI in West Jakarta.
The 36-year-old Memilih Dia singer, whose Malaysian-British husband Ashraf Sinclair died on February 18 following a heart attack, couldn’t hold back tears as Judika belted out the emotional song.
As the heartfelt moment touched many hearts on social media, many were also quick to point out that producers were exploiting BCL’s recent grief and loss to increase the show’s ratings.
“Shame on Indonesian Idol, BCL relies on entertainment and strength to continue with her life but instead they used her as a commercial tool,” @nvmillfind1 wrote on Twitter.
Shame on Indonesian Idol, kak unge ini butuh hiburan dan kekuatan untuk menjalani hidup. Tapi malah dijadikan bahan komersil oleh mereka, Bang judika gak salah, cuman agak menyayangkan pihak Idol aja sih. Kasian kan, air mata kemarin masih ada bekasnya ditambah hari ini juga pic.twitter.com/aIVNuyB6aI
— AGNEZMO STAN 🅙 (@nvmillfind1) March 2, 2020
Other fans quickly jumped in to agree that the programme took advantage of BCL’s loss of a loved one as a way of increasing viewership.
Many Indonesians believe that BCL made the effort to appear strong in public but the programme that evening made it hard for the mother of one to hold in her emotions.
please stay strong mba bcl 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭#IndonesianIdol #bclsinclair #IdolResultReunion pic.twitter.com/3Bl3Z36fYH
— 푸트리 #SUGADAY (@PutriLarity) March 2, 2020
@weirdafiq described the producers’ actions as “heartless”.
“A day after Ashraf died, you have to ask why RCTI showed an old film of the couple when they are mourning – taking advantage for the sake of profits and high ratings,” shot back @madebys8son.
“Hello @IndonesiaIdol creative team. What a bad move commercialising BCL’s grief to increase ratings for your content,” added @almirazharafina.
Why Judika. 😭😭 RCTI shouldnt have asked him to sing his sad song in front of BCL and kept shooting at her while shes crying. 😢 SHE IS INDEED a strong woman but she doesnt deserve this. 💔 This breaks my heart into pieces. 😭 #bcl #bclsinclair #ashrafsinclair #IndonesianIdol pic.twitter.com/ahViO0aUTc
— Tuty❥🧜🏻♀️ (@puteriazwin) March 2, 2020
indonesian idol team suck for using bcl's grief for a freaking scene and rating.... im so sorry they did you dirty on your loss kak unge you deserve better 💔
— ㅂ (@hyukjerry) March 2, 2020
Shame on you Indonesian Idol. Instead of giving strength to BCL, you were actually commercializing BCL sadness and made her more depressed. Where is ur empathy?
— Yourwine (@Yourwine3) March 2, 2020
BCL met Ashraf in 2007 when she was promoting her album in Malaysia.
The pair wedded the following year on November 8, 2008 and welcomed a son, Noah Aidan Sinclair on September 22, 2010.
Ashraf, who shot to fame playing Eddy in Gol & Gincu, continued his career in Indonesia and acted in the romantic comedy film titled Saus Kacang in 2008 and several ‘sinetron’ (television drama series) in the republic.
The 40-year-old actor suffered a heart attack in the early hours of February 18 and was later pronounced dead at the Metropolitan Medical Centre in Kuningan, South Jakarta at 4.51am local time.
His sudden death sent shockwaves through the Malaysian and Indonesian entertainment industry.
He was laid to rest at San Diego Hills Memorial Park, Karawang in West Java late in the afternoon of February 18.
