Well, we’ve been in such a Jho Low bubble all week that we almost missed a Johor-area bridal shop owner feeling the wrath of the internet after a very ill-advised photo shoot.
Nur Amirah Mohd Amiruddin, owner of Mummyqueen Bridal Couture [Ed. Note: If you’re wondering just how bad her judgment is, that name might give you a clue], had the ill-conceived notion that a Kluang, Johor Catholic cemetery was the appropriate place to stage a photo call over the weekend.
Women wearing Malay-style bridal gowns were snapped elegantly draped across, and pensively sitting on, the graves of the dearly departed, who could no longer tell them to GTFO.
Netizen @chrissytwittwit, for one, wasn’t going to take the shoot lying down, and posted the images to her Twitter account.
Writing that the idea was “f**king stupid,” she then asked if there was no better place to have a photo shoot. She added that the move was disrespectful to those buried at the cemetery, and wondered aloud if people would “do anything just for the sake of attention” these days.
https://twitter.com/aliahiskandar/status/1191691581587247104
The response was swift and biting, with many commenters even apologizing on behalf of Islam, which Chrissy dismissed as unnecessary, saying it wasn’t a religious issue.
“Whatever your race or religion, if you’re an idiot, you’re an idiot. We’re not angry because of their race or religion but because they lack respect for the places of others.”
Chrissy said she tried to contact Nur Amirah to explain that, to Christians, cemeteries are sacred places, but Nur Amirah’s response was to simply block her.
Following the backlash, Nur Amirah spoke to Malay-language daily Harian Metro, apologizing, and telling the paper that she had hired the three models, an on-site make-up artist, and a photographer to take the pictures for her own “private collection.”
She says that she did not intend to seek any publicity when she uploaded the watermarked photos to her Facebook account, and she intended the pictures to be “fun.”
Hey man, we get it. After all, nothing says “fun” like the final resting places of hundreds of loved ones no longer present, amirite?!
Nur Amirah added that she just wanted to do “something different,” and took inspiration from similar shoots abroad.
Aahahaha. Nur Amirah. Girl. The only people abroad staging photo shoots in cemeteries are teenage black metal enthusiasts trying to promote their latest Soundcloud/cassette-only release.
Look, the etiquette’s pretty simple: As our own Catholic grandmother taught us, when visiting cemeteries, don’t walk on graves, don’t walk over graves, don’t sit on graves. Easy as that.
Monsignor Peter Ng — the parish priest of the St. Louis Church Kluang, where the shoot was staged — told local media that those involved were already forgiven. However, he also added that upon seeing the shoot in action, he had spoken to those present and advised them not to publish the photos online.
He added that the parish would now be looking into improving security at the graveyard.
Nur Amirah may be regretting not taking the Monsignor’s advice: she told Harian Metro that the negative online comments have forced her to temporarily deactivate her Facebook account (but not before she made a tearful apology), and make her Instagram profile private.
She concluded that she made a mistake and accepted the public’s criticisms with an open heart. Also, don’t blame the models!
Police are looking into the matter, though they have yet to take any action in connection with the photo shoot.
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