PETALING JAYA: Stand-up comedian Jocelyn Chia, who has been under fire for making jokes about the missing Flight MH370, says involving Interpol in a search for her was "ridiculous" and would only make her more famous.
"Honestly, if Interpol did something about this request and things escalated, can you imagine how famous it is going to make me?" Chia said in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday (June 15).
"I just wish I could have seen the face of the Interpol officer who received the request."
Chia also said that her jokes had been taken out of context on social media and her routine should be seen in its entirety in a comedy club setting.
She also told the BBC that she "was not making fun of tragedy and victims, but was trying to find humour in tragedy."
She added that roasting or poking fun at the audience is part of comedy club culture in New York.
"Americans can appreciate humour that is harsher, edgier and more in-your-face, as compared to in Asia where the stand-up comedy scene is still in its early days. You won't find a lot of edgy comedy in Asia," she said.
The video clip riled up both Malaysians and Singaporean and was removed from the TikTok platform, which cited a violation of its hate speech guidelines.
Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Chia's joke was "horrendous" and its High Commissioner to Malaysia also said that they did not condone such acts and revealed that Chia was not a Singaporean any more.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had said the police was seeking Interpol's help to find out Chia's full identity and her current whereabouts.
