The Antwerp singer FabioW has come under intense scrutiny for a racist passage in his new song, 'Praat Nederlands' (“Speak Dutch”), as he mimics an Asian person and their language.
In 'Praat Nederlands', FabioW sings about meeting a girl while travelling through Vietnam. As he did not understand her language, FabioW mimics her with the words "Ching, chang, chong."
The expression, a caricature of Asian languages, caused outrage on social media.
FabioW, the stage name of 28-year-old Sebastiaan Van Thilborgh, apologised for the passage in his song over the weekend and took it down from streaming platforms.
In a video posted to social media, FabioW explained that he did so because he had underestimated the song's impact on Asian people, saying he did not intend to upset anyone.
On Monday, however, the song reappeared unedited, with the title being changed to 'Ching, Chong, Chang'. Google removed the song from its platform, YouTube, shortly after it was reuploaded, stating that it breached its terms of service for hate speech.
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"It's hard for me to see our country get ruined like this," FabioW explained on social media after reuploading the song. "My intentions were always positive, and Belgium is still a free country. As long as I live, I will fight to defend that freedom."
FabioW drew comparisons between his song and the "All white men to the back" slogan used by Dutch singer Sophie Straat.
The slogan caused outrage after her performances on Best Kept Secret in the Netherlands and the Gentse Feesten in Belgium.
"If you're allowed to say that all white men should go to the back, but not 'ching, chang, chong', rules apply differently depending on whether you are woke or not," FabioW added.
A day later, FabioW once again removed all mentions of the song from his platforms. In a post, he explained that "this action could lead to [him] losing everything [he] has been building."
"I still believe people should grow stronger, and it is problematic that the words ching chong chang make you feel unsafe. The world is a weird place with bad people. The only remedy is to become strong and resilient," he added.
Known for his cowboy hat and comedic elements in his songs, FabioW had his breakthrough in the summer of 2024 with the song 'GTA'.
He is a popular figure on social media, posting up to a dozen videos per day on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Other songs of his that went viral include 'Langzaufen', 'Den Tony', and 'Mona Lisa'.
