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Radio DJ's planned youth talk contained 'inappropriate' parts on his sexuality: Singapore Polytechnic

SINGAPORE — A talk that Singapore radio disc jockey Joshua Simon was slated to give at Singapore Polytechnic contained material “relating to his sexuality’’, and this might be “inappropriate for the target audience”, the polytechnic said.

Kiss92 FM disc jockey Joshua Simon (pictured) said he did not wish to create a precedent by censoring the script he had prepared for a talk at a Singapore Polytechnic event.

Kiss92 FM disc jockey Joshua Simon (pictured) said he did not wish to create a precedent by censoring the script he had prepared for a talk at a Singapore Polytechnic event.

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SINGAPORE — A talk that Singapore radio disc jockey Joshua Simon was slated to give at Singapore Polytechnic contained material “relating to his sexuality’’, and this might be “inappropriate for the target audience”, the polytechnic said.

Mr Simon, a DJ on Kiss92 FM, pulled out of a TED Talks session that was scheduled for last Saturday (June 29), after he was told of the concerns and asked to edit parts of his talk. In a Facebook post, he said that he did not wish to create a precedent for future speakers by agreeing to censor his script.

In a written response to queries from TODAY, a spokesperson from Singapore Polytechnic said that the student organising committee reviewed Mr Simon’s script when they received it “on the eve” of the event, called TEDxYouth@SP.

“They found it inspirational but assessed that certain parts relating to his sexuality might be inappropriate for the target audience. They sought the advice of the staff of (the polytechnic) who agreed with the students’ views,” the spokesperson said.

The organising committee had then suggested that Mr Simon consider reviewing how these mentions were expressed in his script, given the audience profile, while preserving the integrity of his story, she added.

“Unfortunately, he decided not to speak at the event at all instead. The students were disappointed but respected his decision,” the spokesperson said.

The website for TEDxYouth@SP stated that the event was spearheaded by a group of students from Singapore Polytechnic. It aims to inspire students with ideas and stories, and was supported by the polytechnic.

The series of talks originated from California-based non-profit organisation TED, which launched short, inspiring talks held around the globe that are often uploaded online. TED stands for “technology, entertainment and design”.

Singapore Polytechnic said that all speakers are required to submit their scripts before the event “to ensure that their content is aligned to the theme and appropriate for the audience”.

“In the run-up to the event, Joshua Simon was advised that certain references to his sexuality might be sensitive, given the diverse profile of the audience.”

VIRAL FACEBOOK POST

In a viral Facebook post last Sunday, Mr Simon said that he declined the opportunity to speak at the event after he was approached by the school to edit out the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) content of his speech script.

“It would be against my principles to flip the gender of my ex when mentioning my breakup and to totally leave out my coming out story to my father — both of which are, and will always be, defining moments of my story,” he wote in the post, which has been shared more than 1,000 times since.

“To hide my struggles and sacrifices is to be ashamed of them. To honour my story is to be completely vulnerable on that stage. I told the school that I will not do the talk. I chose not to censor my script. 

“Doing so would also set a hurtful precedence to the next gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer person offered a chance to speak. I will not allow anyone to say ‘if Joshua cut that out of his speech, so can you’.”

Mr Simon also wrote that Singapore Polytechnic had made an effort to formally apologise to him.

“A representative from the school expressed interest in meeting me to issue a formal apology as they had to abide by the rules of the Ministry of Education (MOE),” Mr Simon said. “I appreciate the gesture but right now I just want some time to be with myself.” 

MOE told TODAY that all institutes of higher learning can decide on events conducted on campus.

“For this particular event, MOE was neither informed of it, nor involved in the event organisers’ deliberations on the selection of speakers.

“Having said that, we have guidelines for institutes of higher learning. We encourage open discussions on various topics, but some issues, especially those that concern race and religion, are sensitive and potentially socially divisive. Organisers need to be cognisant of them and exercise appropriate judgement."

Related topics

MOE Singapore Polytechnic DJ Joshua Simon LGBT TED Talks

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