SINGAPORE — MediaCorp recently released a statement addressing the minor furore that arose last Friday, when actress Michelle Chong remarked via Twitter that she was being banned from playing the characters Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu.
On June 14, Chong had tweeted: “So what’s this I hear about Mediacorp’s Higher Management banning me from playing Barbarella from now on (sic)?”
She followed this with a Mandarin phrase to the effect of “There’s no need to be afraid if you have the goods”, and another tweet: “They not gonna sell character license to anyone to use my characters anymore so no more Barbs, Leticia, Lulu etc anywhere (sic)”.
All three characters, which were played by Chong, appeared in the first five seasons of the Channel 5 sitcom The Noose. Season Six, which ended its run a few weeks ago, did not have her as part of its cast. Nevertheless, Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu have resurfaced recently in advertisements for a condominium.
MediaCorp’s Vice President, Channel 5 Branding and Promotions Serene Choo said: “The characters played by Michelle Chong from The Noose have never been disallowed or decommissioned by MediaCorp. As shown in the recent TV advertisement, these characters will always be given due consideration as and when commercial interests arise.”
She added: “To bring a fresh and current perspective to Singapore Day 2013, the event will feature popular characters from the latest season of The Noose, which do not have characters played by Michelle Chong.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to clarify MediaCorp’s position on Michelle Chong’s characters in The Noose.”
In an e-mail reply today (June 17), Chong said: "I thank MediaCorp for this statement and also the audience for their kind support. I hope they will continue to support The Noose, whether or not I'm in it, and I look forward to rehashing my Noose characters should the opportunities arise, because it would have been a shame to say goodbye forever to these characters who have built a rapport with the audience over time."
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