Popular Vietnamese pop star Son Tung M-TP has just been fined VND70 million (USD3,044) as his music video contained content that "has a negative impact on morals, community health and social psychology."
A scene in the There’s Nobody There At All video.
Speaking with Dantri/Dtinews on May 5, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Pham Cao Thai said that the representative of Son Tung M-TP came to work with the department the same day on the There’s Nobody There At All video.
"Based on Clause 3, Article 13 of Decree 38/2021/ND-CP on violations in the field of culture and advertising, we decided to issue a fine of VND 70 million to the singer," the official said. "Son Tung M-TP was also asked to remove the video from Youtube and all other websites."
The video was released on April 28. In the MV, Son Tung M-TP played a young man who was an orphan. He grew up in an orphanage to become an arrogant man and a troublemaker. The video features lots of chasing and fighting scenes. It ends with the young man committing suicide by jumping off a building.
As one of the most-followed Vietnamese celebrities on social media and an idol of many young people, Son Tung M-TP's new video received great attention from the public. It hit about eight million views and 600,000 likes after just a day.
However, many of the public have voiced their complaints and criticism that the video’s content may have a negative influence on young people, especially given the rising number of teenage suicides.
After receiving recommendations from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications on April 29 ordered the video to be removed from Youtube and all other websites in and outside Vietnam.
The same day, Son Tung M-TP made an apology. He also said he would remove it from Youtube.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the video carried a negative, non-educational message with many violent scenes and ends with the suicide image which has a strong impact on the viewer’s psychology.
Singer-songwriter Son Tung M-TP is a popular pop star with many hit singles. The 28-year-old singer is currently one of the most-followed Vietnamese celebrities on social media with over 14.30 million followers on Facebook and over 9.92 million subscribers on Youtube.
