Tran Thanh was criticized on live broadcast and the MC asked about his personal life while hosting.

On the evening of January 16, Tlinh attended the final round of Rap Viet season 2 as a guest artist and performed the songSingle girl.After the performance ended, she interacted with Tran Thanh and reacted quite strongly when the male MC asked about her private love life.

The above segment was broadcast live on HTV and caused two opposing opinions. Some viewers were not satisfied with Tlinh's reactions, while many criticized Tran Thanh for asking tactless questions.

Tran Thanh and Tlinh were caught up in conflicting opinions after their interaction in the final round of Rap Viet season 2. Photo: Quynh Danh

Tlinh apologizes after receiving backlash

When Tran Thanh asked if she was single, Tlinh frankly replied: "Can you ask a more subtle question?". Tlinh did not answer the male MC's subsequent questions completely, mumbling and not understanding the words many times.

Many viewers criticized Tlinh for her tactlessness and lack of respect for her seniors. In response to mixed opinions from the audience, the female rapper apologized on January 27.

On her personal page, she apologized to MC Tran Thanh: "I was very nervous and emotional when I returned to Rap Viet. But last night, I spoke and acted inappropriately towards my senior, Tran Thanh. I am under a lot of pressure in my personal life, so at that time I accidentally thought about it and felt uncomfortable. In my confusion, I chose my words carelessly."

After Tlinh apologized, Tran Thanh still has not spoken out about the incident. The male MC maintains his silence on the controversies related to the program, as he has done since he started hosting Rap Viet.

On social media, many viewers commented that Tran Thanh was not tactful. The male MC has a habit of joking with guests and contestants. But in the case of Tlinh who had just broken up with her boyfriend, she could have been unhappy when asked about her personal feelings. Some viewers even criticized Tran Thanh for asking tactless questions. Meanwhile, many people thought that Tlinh had disrespectful words towards her senior.

Tlinh apologized to Tran Thanh, explaining that she was under personal pressure and chose the wrong words while answering. Photo: Quynh Danh

Is Tran Thanh wrong?

In fact, Tran Thanh asked about Tlinh's love life because she had just performed the songSingle girl. This is a familiar "trick" of MCs.

For game show hosts or music programs that require flexibility and animation, MCs often use the formula of referring to life to lead into a song or start a story after completing the performance.

It is not difficult to see this way of presenting on television, even in major programs broadcast live on national channels. For example, when introducing songs about spring, the MC will mention sentences, poems or metaphors about an individual related to spring.

Therefore, in essence, Tran Thanh's quotes and questions are not wrong. But to be fair, this way of quoting is no longer new.

The segment with Tlinh's appearance was broadcast live, not pre-recorded and not edited. It is not difficult to predict, nor is it blameworthy that Tran Thanh applied the familiar formula of MCs. However, perhaps the male MC did not anticipate that Tlinh did not want to talk about her private life.

Tran Thanh repeatedly used "tricks" to mention the contestants' private lives when hosting Rap Viet. Photo: Quynh Danh.

And perhaps Tlinh herself is not used to receiving similar questions when appearing on stage. And as she shared, the female rapper herself has personal problems that make her easily get angry, confused and choose the wrong words.

But Tlinh is not "rude" - as some audiences say about her. Standing on stage, Tlinh and Tran Thanh have equal status, not too different in roles. Moreover, although she is younger and has not been in the profession for long, the female rapper still has the right to be respected and has the right to express her personal opinion, regardless of who the person is talking to.

Choose to answer tactfully or directly

Most of the audience thought that Tlinh should have answered tactfully, found a way to "steer" the question and the audience's attention in another direction, or at least refused the question more politely and courteously.

This is the way most Vietnamese artists, or even Asian artists like Korean, Japanese, Korean. Asian artists mostly have the mindset of "peace is precious", avoiding conflicts and offending colleagues. With the audience, they also try to maintain their image, avoiding saying the wrong thing.

But with European and American artists, they often respond frankly to the above questions. Because in reality, leading a program by asking about feelings and private life is not a problem of any particular country or region.

When asked, instead of trying to answer tactfully to let things go, European and American artists will express dissatisfaction, or even "diss" the MC if the question is not on the point they want to answer.

Taylor Swift reacts strongly when being joked about her personal life.

For example, when repeatedly asked about her personal life and asked to kiss a male audience member on the Late Show by David Letterman in 1994, Madonna asked the host: "Why are you so interested in my personal love life?"

In 2014, while attending an event, Rihanna was asked what she expected from the next man in her life. Instead of answering about an ideal boyfriend model like most Asian artists choose, the 34-year-old singer frankly said: "I'm not looking for a man."

Or like Taylor Swift at the 2015 Grammys. The MC joked that the singer could leave with more men than the number of trophies she won on the night of the awards. Taylor Swift did not accept the joke and replied: "I'm not leaving with any men. I'm just going to hang out with my friends and then go home to my cats. Men just make my life complicated."

It can be seen that Tlinh's answer is more like the behavior of Western stars, instead of the cheerful and gentle way of speaking familiar to Asians. Therefore, if put in a different situation, Tlinh might not be wrong and would not need to apologize.

The story between Tlinh and Tran Thanh is not really about right and wrong, but simply a matter of showbiz culture and cultural environment. Criticizing either of them is unnecessary, because what Tlinh needs to do is be more conscious in choosing words and Tran Thanh needs to refresh his "show-hosting" skills.

David Letterman is a famous MC, but often creates controversial situations because of his awkward questions.