Nas Academy, an online learning platform by Nuseir Yassin a.k.a Nas Daily has finally broken its silence following allegations of cultural exploitation and pinoybaiting.
On Thursday, Nas Academy reemphasized that its online course featuring traditional tattoo artist Whang-Od is not a scam by posting a video showing Whang-Od affixing her thumbprint on a contract.
"As a matter of fact, Whang-Od's trusted niece, Estella Palangdao, was present and translated the content of the contract prior to Whang-Od affixing her thumbprint, signifying her full consent to the project. This is the clearest evidence that it is not a scam and achieved the consent of her and her immediate family," Nas Academy said in a Facebook post.
"Everybody was compensated for their time, and for every sale the Whang-Od Academy generates, most of it went directly to her and her family. We just provided the technology and the marketing."
Nas Academy has temporarily taken down Whang-Od's course on its website as they resolve the issue.
"When we saw the falsehoods circulating online, we were sad. The truth is oftentimes not as simple as a 'tweet.' And online falsehoods can be dangerous. Out of respect for her family, we temporarily took down Whang-Od Academy while we resolve any issues that have arisen from these falsehoods," it said.
Nas Academy also shared that a portion the proceeds from the online master class, which was priced at PHP750, will be given to Whang-Od and her family.
‘40% of Nas Academy is made up of Filipinos. So for us, this is personal. We care deeply about the Philippines and respect the many cultures and traditions that exist across the country. And we have all come together to make the world a better place.’
Whang-Od's grandniece, Grace Palicas, earlier called out Nas Academy for being a "scam," saying that the traditional tattoo artist did not sign any contract to do the master class, causing a spiral of emotions among Filipinos. Her Facebook posts have since been deleted.
