Meet Siew Pui Yi, the controversial Malaysian influencer whose ao dai photo in Vietnam sparked a social media storm – she’s also an OnlyFans star with her own beauty brand
- She came from a lower-middle-class background before she found fame online and became the first Southeast Asian woman to feature on the cover of Penthouse
- Known for her seductive photos, Siew caused outrage when she posted a photo of herself wearing Vietnam’s traditional ao dai dress in Hoi An – while showing off her underwear
Malaysian social media influencer Siew Pui Yi caused a social media storm recently when she shared rather suggestive photos of herself posing in Vietnam’s national dress ao dai.
The ao dai is a long tunic dress with slits on both sides and worn over long flared trousers. But the 23-year-old YouTuber and cosmetics entrepreneur caused an uproar by wearing the country’s traditional attire without any bottoms on while releasing colourful flower-shaped paper lanterns (a traditional custom signifying a prayer for peace) on the Hoai River in Hoi An, Vietnam, a Unesco heritage site and popular tourist destination.
The ao dai, which translates to “long tunic” or “long shirt,” is Vietnam’s national dress, conceptualised in the early 1700s as a symbol of femininity in the Southeast Asian country. Siew promptly apologised and deleted the photos after Vietnamese fans accused her of disrespecting their culture.
Siew is known for posting pictures of herself in skimpy clothing and has made her name among the top models of Malaysia, with over 700,000 Facebook followers and over 17.5 million Instagram fans. But there are some surprising things that many people don’t know about her.
1. She’s the first Malaysian to feature on the cover of Penthouse
In January, Siew made the cover of US adult magazine Penthouse, notorious for featuring fully nude models, making her the first Malaysian and first woman from Southeast Asia to be featured on the raunchy magazine’s cover.
2. She had a difficult childhood
Siew grew up in a lower-middle-class family where her mother worked as a hawker and her father as a regular salesperson. She told The Vibes TV YouTube channel that when she was around five or six years old, her dad went bankrupt, and the responsibility of earning and providing for the family fell solely on her mother’s shoulders.
According to The Star, Siew was born in Kuala Lumpur. Her family moved to Penang when she was nine, where she studied in SMK Datuk Onn, Butterworth. In her interview, she admitted that during high school and primary school, many kids would have new school bags and go on holidays throughout the year, but because her parents were poor, she could never afford that “luxury”.