After making headlines in Singapore for deleting a misleading claim about ships piling up offshore due to COVID-19, Irish singer Ronan Keating pinned the whole hullabaloo on “a local.”
After initially sayin’ nothing at all, Keating addressed the gaffe last night in a post telling his 300,000 followers that he was simply echoing a claim relayed to him by an unidentified Singaporean and apologized to anyone offended.
“I recently posted this pic after being told by a local in Singapore that the reason they were all parked up was due to the Virus,” the former Boyzone member wrote. “I have been recently informed that this is not true and that this is how the harbour always looks. I apologise if I offended anyone in my post you all know I would never purposefully do that.”
Keating made a many Singaporeans facepalm Tuesday after he posted an aerial photo of dozens of tanker and container ships idling offshore in the strait with a claim it was because of the coronavirus outbreak. Many were quick to point out that was just business as usual in the world’s second-busiest port. Even Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority leaned in to clarify in a comment that the ships were just queuing as normal.
Keating later deleted the post without comment.
In his follow-up post, Keating went on to strike a defensive tone by pointing out he’d performed in Singapore and Jakarta when other artists had canceled shows in light of the disease outbreak.
“To all you haters out there, get on with your short life. I went to Singapore and did a gig when others were cancelling and the same in Jakarta. I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do. Peace and love to all and wash your hands,” he added.
There are no reports of him performing in Singapore but Keating did a show in Malaysia’s Resorts World Genting on Feb. 14 and in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday. He last performed in Singapore in June last year with Boyzone as part of a farewell tour.
Several concerts have been canceled in Singapore due to coronavirus concerns, including one by Norwegian group A-ha, who was meant to perform for the first time ever in the city-state.
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