PETALING JAYA, Sept 17 — Local actress and entrepreneur Syatilla Melvin is under fire for employing “obscene” marketing tactics to sell her latest product.
Syatilla, 29, had posted an Instagram photo of herself lounging on top of a broken bed in red silk robes to promote a drink that claims to “improve husband and wife relations.”
“Wanna know why our bed broke the other day? We’ll show you the proof, swipe right for the real story,” she wrote to her three million followers.
The boudoir-style photos included a shot showing a pair of hands restraining someone else on the bed.
Many were unhappy with the raunchy tone of the photos and criticised Syatilla for resorting to cheap marketing schemes for attention.
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Others also raised concerns about influencers promoting alleged snake oil products that may come with hidden health risks for consumers.
“The last picture is so unnecessary. It’s borderline obscene. Please remember that you are a Muslimah,” one person wrote.
“To those who are drinking so-called jamu (herbal supplements), please educate yourself. Don’t let these people play with your health just for money,” said another.
Syatilla told mStar that she and her husband Shaheizy Sam had anticipated the negative responses while they were preparing for the product photoshoot.
She claimed that the photos had a “double meaning” and that they had no intention of promoting any kind of obscenity.
“If people want to view the photos negatively, it will automatically become negative.
“It would be different if they could see it in a positive light, it really depends on the person’s perspective.
“We never had any intention of being obscene. If social media users still see it in a negative way, we can’t control how they feel.
“To me, bad marketing is still marketing,” said Syatilla.
The mother-of-two added that she did not take any of the criticisms personally and that they have resulted in her becoming a stronger person over the years.
“I accept all the hate with a positive mindset and I think I became the person that I am today because of all these negative comments.
“The more people gossip about us, the more Allah will help us because we are not the ones who did anything wrong.
“If people didn’t bash me or say mean things about me, maybe I wouldn’t be as strong as I am today.”
