But he denied he had done so in an attempt to promote ill will between different racial and religious groups in Singapore.
Among other things, a rap video featuring Nair was posted on YouTube on July 29, 2019, containing lyrics that allegedly attacked Chinese people in general.
On the first day of his trial on Tuesday, Nair testified that the video was done in response to an advertisement which featured actor Dennis Chew playing multiple roles, including that of an Indian man and a Malay woman.
The 31-year-old told District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan he wanted his rap video to convey the message that the advertisement was blatantly racist.
He added that the rap video was directed towards some Chinese people, who he said are racist.
Stressing that not all Chinese are racist, Nair said he wanted to end instances of "brownface" in Singapore.
Brownface is a social phenomenon, usually involving a light-skinned person pretending to be somebody of a different ethnicity who has a darker complexion.
This story is from the March 22, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the March 22, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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