Nigel Ng – Wikipedia

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Malaysian stand-up comedian and internet personality

Nigel Ng Kin-ju ( UNG;[2] born 15 March 1991),[3][4] better known by his online persona Uncle Roger, is a Malaysian-British stand-up comedian and internet celebrity based in London, England.[5][6] Ng prides himself on various East and Southeast Asian stereotypes, and became popular on social media as his online persona, a middle-aged Asian man reviewing Asian food recipes who speaks Cantonese as a first language with an exaggerated and pronounced accent.

Early life[edit]

Ng was born in Kuala Lumpur to Malaysian Chinese parents of Hokkien ancestry.[7][8] Ng’s father is a car salesman and his mother is a full-time homemaker.[9]

After graduating from Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur in 2009, Ng moved to the United States to study at Northwestern University, majoring in engineering and minoring in philosophy, graduating in 2014.[8]

Ng is a fan of Hong Kong comic actor Stephen Chow, and cites Chow’s films as having inspired him to become a comedian.[9]

Ng won the Amused Moose Laugh-Off 2016 and was runner-up in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2015. He was also a finalist in the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2016) and Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year (2015).[10][11] Ng was nominated for the “Best Newcomer Award” for his stand-up comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019.[12][13][14]

Ng made his TV debut in 2018 on Comedy Central’s Stand Up Central.[15][16]

He hosted the comedy podcasts Rice to Meet You with UK-based Swedish comedian Evelyn Mok.[6][17][18] and HAIYAA with Nigel Ng with his producer Matt.[19]

On 2 January 2021, Ng uploaded his first Chinese video in Bilibili, a video sharing website in China.[20] On 12 January, Ng apologised on the China social media platform Sina Weibo and deleted a video featuring fellow YouTube star Mike Chen[21] who had been critical of the Chinese Communist Party, and who had been associated with Falun Gong.[22] Ng stated, “This video has made a bad social impact…I wasn’t aware of his political thoughts and his past incorrect remarks about China…I hope you can give Uncle Roger, who has just entered China, a chance to improve!”[23] Ng’s move attracted criticism on Twitter.[24] In his first subsequent video as Uncle Roger, he said he would “keep making funny videos – no politics, no drama”.[6][25]

In 2021, he appeared on the first episode of Mock the Week Series 19, a British comedy show on BBC Two.[26]

Uncle Roger[edit]

Ng has become best known for his comedic persona Uncle Roger, who speaks with a pronounced Cantonese-like accent and prides himself on various East and Southeast Asian stereotypes.[6][27] His comedy partner Evelyn Mok came up with the middle-aged Asian uncle character for a sitcom with Ng in mind, and Ng further developed the character on TikTok and Instagram sketches before moving the character onto YouTube.[28][29][30]

In July 2020, Ng attracted attention for his YouTube video critique of Hersha Patel’s BBC Food video on cooking egg-fried rice in the Uncle Roger persona.[31] After the video went viral, Ng and Patel appeared on BBC together.[2] Ng has also collaborated with Patel on a YouTube video.[32] In August 2020, Ng worked in Liz Haigh’s restaurant, Mei Mei. In September 2020, he posted a critique video with regards to Gordon Ramsay’s fried rice cooking, in which he praised Ramsay for his correct technique.[33] Ng has released numerous videos critiquing Jamie Oliver’s versions of popular Asian dishes like egg-fried rice and Thai green curry.[28] He has made it clear that he does not want any of his viewers to spread hate towards anyone.[34] He has also reviewed the fried rice of a number of other chefs.

In 28 February 2021, he became a special guest on MasterChef Singapore Season 2.[citation needed]

On August 14, 2022, he became a guest judge on Junior MasterChef Indonesia Season 3 during the Final 3.[citation needed]

On October 13, 2022, he also became a guest diner on Hell’s Kitchen Season 21. He complained on the Blue Team being slow on service and wished to be on the Red Team’s service with Tony Hawk.[citation needed]

Reception[edit]

The accent Ng uses for the Uncle Roger character has also received criticism for perpetuating negative stereotypes about Asians, and his act has been compared to a minstrel show.[26][28][35][36] Chef J. Kenji López-Alt, who is of Japanese descent, criticised him in the description of his egg fried rice tutorial, saying “I don’t like that his schtick seems to give a free pass to people to imitate stereotypical Asian speech patterns and pronunciation (especially as it’s almost always non-Asians doing the imitating). It’s ugly, it’s yellowface, it’s not funny, and it promotes anti-Asian racism at a time when Asians are already being heavily discriminated against.”[28][37]

Personal life[edit]

Ng currently resides in London, United Kingdom.

In 2020, Ng revealed that he was a victim of an anti-Asian racist assault in London.[38][39] He said in one of his live sets, “I got punched, man, in London. This is real.” He added that it was a cyclist that had punched him.[40]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b “About mrnigelng”. YouTube.
  2. ^ a b “BBC不懂煮饭？网红吐嘈影片爆红 片中主角一同接受访问”. BBC News 中文 (in Simplified Chinese). 29 July 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ Sathiabalan, S. Indra (29 October 2019). “Ng’s a cracking success”. The Sun Daily.
  4. ^ Ng, Nigel (15 March 2011). “@njkian Thank you!!!!!! It’s my birthday. I better churn out something impressive”. Twitter.
  5. ^ 南博一. “吐槽”BBC蛋炒饭”成名网红在伦敦街头无故遭殴打”. 澎湃新闻 (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Carla Thomas (15 January 2021). “The real Uncle Roger: who is Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, behind the YouTube sensation forever remembered for mocking the BBC’s approach to fried rice?”. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  7. ^ Lo, Ricky (14 October 2019). “Two Pinoys among 12 Asians in Stand-Up, Asia! Season 4”. The Philippine Star.
  8. ^ a b Ngeow, Ivy (7 June 2018). “Interview with Nigel Ng: Malaysian Comedy Sensation – WRITE NGEOW”. writengeow.com. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b 崔斯也. “脱口秀演员黄瑾瑜：人人都爱Uncle Roger”. 新周刊. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. ^ “Nigel Ng”. Backyard Comedy Club. 2 August 2015.
  11. ^ “Nigel Ng”. Off the Kerb. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. ^ “Here are your nominees for best show and best newcomer at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”. The Comic’s Comic. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  13. ^ “Edinburgh Comedy awards 2019: surrealists, standups and sausage act vie for prize”. The Guardian. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  14. ^ Logan, Brian (5 February 2020). “Nigel Ng review – primetime culture-clash comedy”. the Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  15. ^ “Interview with Nigel Ng: Malaysian Comedy Sensation”. LinkedIn. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  16. ^ “Chinese comedy on the rise in Britain”. China Daily. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  17. ^ “Rice To Meet You Podcast”. Rice To Meet You Podcast. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021.
  18. ^ “Rice to Meet You Podcast – YouTube”. YouTube.
  19. ^ “HAIYAA Podcast with Nigel Ng”. Youtube.
  20. ^ Ng, Nigel. “华裔疯狂吐槽BBC蛋炒饭，你们的罗杰叔叔来了！”. Bilibili (in Chinese). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  21. ^ 王强. “马来西亚华裔网红对误同”法轮功”邪教背景人员合作向网友致歉”. 中国反邪教网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  22. ^ “Uncle Roger comedian deletes video with China critic”. BBC News. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  23. ^ Ng, Nigel (12 January 2021). “Apology Statement”. Sina Weibo. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  24. ^ Grundy, Tom (12 January 2021). “‘Uncle Roger’ apologises and deletes video featuring fellow YouTube star who criticised China”. Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  25. ^ Chau, Candice (18 January 2021). “I’m ‘not bowing down to anyone’: Uncle Roger comic urges ‘no politics’ after deleting YouTube vid starring Beijing critic”. Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  26. ^ a b “Why Uncle Roger’s throwaway racism can do real damage”. Hong Kong Free Press. 24 January 2021.
  27. ^ “영국 BBC에서 만든 계란 볶음밥에 전 세계 아시아인이 분노한 이유?”. SBS NEWS (in Korean). 5 August 2020.
  28. ^ a b c d Limbong, Andrew (18 April 2022). “Keep screwing up egg fried rice. It makes Uncle Roger happy”. NPR. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  29. ^ Thomas, Carla (15 January 2021). “The real Uncle Roger: 6 things to know about comedian Nigel Ng”. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  30. ^ Yap, Audrey Cleo (19 August 2020). “How Comedian Nigel Ng Became the Internet’s Favorite Asian Uncle”. Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  31. ^ Chalil, Melanie (24 July 2020). “UK-based Malaysian comedian roasts BBC Food host for cooking rice wrongly in fried rice tutorial (VIDEO)”. Malay Mail.
  32. ^ “Uncle Roger Meet Egg Fried Rice Lady (@Hersha Patel)”. YouTube.
  33. ^ Sholihyn, Ilyas (22 September 2020). “Gordon Ramsay responds to glowing seal of approval by Uncle Roger for nasi goreng cooking video”. AsiaOne. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  34. ^ Yeung, Jessie. “The Uncle Roger controversy: Why people are outraged by a video about cooking rice”. CNN.
  35. ^ Chong, Elaine (21 May 2021). “Nothing Is Off Limits for Nigel Ng—or Uncle Roger”. Esquire. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  36. ^ “Nigel Ng review – comedy’s viral sensation undercooks his live show”. the Guardian. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  37. ^ “Chicken and Egg Fried Rice | Kenji’s Cooking Show”. YouTube.
  38. ^ “The Londoner: I was victim of ‘racist attack’ in London, says Uncle Roger comedian”. Evening Standard. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  39. ^ Kho, Gordon (1 November 2020). “Malaysian comedian Uncle Roger says he was a victim of racial attack in London”. The Star. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  40. ^ “Keep screwing up egg fried rice. It makes Uncle Roger happy”. NPR.org. Retrieved 3 December 2022.

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