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iQiyi pulls "Make My Heart Smile" after backlash

17 Feb – Chinese streaming giant iQiyi recently announced that it has pulled its drama, "Make My Heart Smile" after a scene in the series offended Filipino viewers.

As reported on ABS-CBN, the issue sparked recently, when one of the episodes in the series showed a male character commenting on the different outfits tried on by a female character at the store. In one instance, the man was displeased with her choice and commented that she looked like "a Filipino maid".

Filipino viewers who saw the episode slammed the show for being racist and offensive, and even called for the show to be boycotted.

The said scene that angered PH viewers
The said scene that angered PH viewers

iQiyi had since deleted the said scene, though in another statement released soon after, it revealed that it has pulled the series altogether for putting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a negative light.

"It is not our intention to offend and upset our Filipino subscribers and we are sorry. The show has been removed from the platform and we are continuously working towards making sure that incidents like this do not happen again," the company expressed.

(Photo Source: ABS-CBN, My DramaList)