M’sians lambast actor Fauzi Nawawi for normalising rape on talk show
PETALING JAYA: Actor Fauzi Nawawi drew the wrath of his fellow Malaysians for making light of a rape scene in one of his previous films.
While engaging in maledominated humour with the hosts of the talk show Rumah No. 107 that aired on Astro On Tuesday night, the 48-yearold actor failed to consider the awkwardness of filming rape scenes, let alone the trauma that sexual assault victims face.
Fauzi also inadvertently named the actress, Raja Farah Aziz who was his co-star in the 2007 film Anak Halal, while boasting about how he enjoyed filming the rape scene which was deleted from the movie.
The actor who is known for playing villains was asked by one of the hosts if he preferred doing robbery or rape scenes to which Fauzi replied, “both”.
“When people say I look like a rapist, I feel more excited to film the scene,” the Gerak Khas actor said before using Anak Halal as an example.
In one scene where his character was raping Farah’s character, the actor went on to describe the actress’ pose in detail where her legs were folded up to her chest.
“You know that position, right? You do it all the time,” Fauzi said to one of the hosts.
“She was wearing tight shorts and her legs were spread out.
“The crew was all watching us, we were all sweating. I was trying my best to control my tiredness and lust.”
The actor shockingly admitted he had to control his facial expression to avoid looking like he was enjoying the process.
Farah’s family reportedly asked for the scene to be removed after it was previewed.
The 33-year-old actress, her husband Iskandar Ismail and thousands of Malaysians have since slammed Fauzi and the talk show hosts for their casualisation of rape.
“I feel very vulnerable and disrespected by what was said in the clip.
“I hope those who were involved in the conversation will apologise personally,” Farah said in an Instagram video.
“This is disrespectful towards women. It is unnecessary in the first place would (Fauzi) speak to his sisters or his mother this way?” Farah’s husband Iskandar added.
Women’s rights group All Women’s Action Society also condemned the men’s attitudes towards rape.
The locker room behaviour did not sit well with Malaysians, who were angered after watching the clip.
The programme was hosted by DJ Shuk Sahar and Khir Rahman with two other actors Zul Huzaimy and Fairuz Zainal Abidin who appeared as guests.
The clip has been viewed 2.1 million times on Twitter at the time of writing.
Amid public outrage, Fauzi apologised earlier on Wednesday, admitting he was ignorant and had no intention of embarrassing his co-star. — Malay Mail