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English-born pop singer Dua Lipa edited the caption of her Instagram photo from "Happy Birthday Babi" to "Happy Birthday Dad" after some Malaysians ridiculed her use of the word "babi" in the post
The 23-year-old pop star, who is born to Albanian parents from Kosovo, posted the sweet childhood photo on her Instagram page as a birthday wish to her father, Dukajgin Lipa.
However, after the comments section was flooded with hurtful comments by certain Malaysian social media users, Dua Lipa felt compelled to replace the word "babi" with "dad".
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A select group of netizens mocked the 'New Rules' songstress for using the word "babi", which means "pig" in Bahasa Malaysia and is considered a derogatory word
One even went as far as to chide the singer for not putting the word through a translator, so as not to carelessly offend any members of the public.
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Some teased Dua Lipa by explaining the meaning of the word and posting the pig emoji.
Here's the thing – "babi" actually means "father" in her parents' native Albanian.
Thankfully, many embarrassed Malaysians came to Dua Lipa's defence, apologising on behalf of those who mocked her and calling them out for their ignorance and insensitivity
Some added that she should not have felt the need to change her caption for their sake, as she has the right to appreciate her family's culture and the Albanian language without anyone's approval.
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Some commenters even urged Dua Lipa to cancel her upcoming KL concert on 3 May
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Luckily for Malaysians, the singer's record label confirmed that there is no change to her scheduled appearance at KL Live
Despite the social media controversy, which has made international headlines, the singer will still be performing in Kuala Lumpur on 3 May.
Image via NME magazine
