There is something for Anya in here

Anya Ayoung Chee looked wonderful on the front pages of The Express yesterday. Confident and beautiful she stood in a posed shot next to her photographer boyfriend who she was seen on tape having sex with in the most interesting and intimate of  positions. 

And if that was not enough to cause eyebrows to raise into pointed asterisks, they were not alone.  Joining them in the homemade video was another Asian woman.

In a Web 2.0 world where there is no such thing as localised news, the salacious video this week  made its way onto  TMZ, the international gossip website that  was the first to break the news of Michael Jackson’s death in June.

Many have snickered at the way Anya Ayoung Chee has been seen in public. While she was disinvited from the Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2009 show, there have been many reports of  Anya going about her social  life in the most ordinary of ways. 

Sad to say but true nevertheless, in a public scandal as juicy as this, people want blood. They want to see someone on the floor who they can dig into the dirt with their heels.  They want the gossip. They want comic relief. 

But mostly I think they want  answers and yes, maybe an  apology. Should  public figures apologise for "offensive" private acts committed in private spaces that are not illegal and do not harm anyone?

Yes, they  should. I think you do it first and then you get on with life.

Here’s a perfect example of how to.

Recently Jamaican dance hall queen, Lisa Hype, was seen  in a widely distributed photograph engaged in a sexual act. Warning do not click this link, if graphic images disturb you. 

But here is her apology, which I think is brilliant because it communicates her  sincerity and regret. And it is sufficiently contrite but not pious. 

Here are Lisa’s words.

 “I would like to say that there is no excuse for a picture of that nature to be a part of the public domain. I admit that the picture is real, but it captures a personal act done in the privacy of my bedroom. I don't know how that got leaked to the media and condemn anyone who would stoop to such a low.

However, I understand that I am a public person, and when I say or do something, either articulated and thought out, it carries weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my actions. I would like to apologise specifically to all my female fans who might be disappointed to see me in this light. However, I don't apologise for the act itself because it was done with a man that I truly and deeply love and respect, and it was done in the privacy of my bedroom. I did it, so what?

I would also like to apologise to my family who are truly and deeply hurt by the dissemination of the photo all over the Internet and the media. This is not cool. And this is not funny. This is my life that some unscrupulous person is attempting to destroy, but I am a strong young woman and I will survive. Many young women, like myself, have been exploited and hurt in this way and there comes a point in everyone's life when they have to stop allowing people to hurt them. I am begging young girls across Jamaica to use my life as an example: we live in a male-dominated society but don't allow men to use and abuse you. I have learned my lesson the hard way. 

The world is a tough classroom, sometimes. In closing, I want to say thank you to all my young fans who have supported me in this, my darkest hour.”

There is a tremendous lesson to be learned with Lisa's post. How to say you’re sorry and yet maintain a modicum of respect while sending a strong social message to your publics.

I think there is something for Anya in here.