Singapore's Top Influencer Christabel Chua Opens Up About Sexual Harassment After Sex Tapes Leaked

By elaine.kiew on 31 Jul 2018

Singaporean blogger/influencer Christabel Chua aka @BellyWellyJelly has been the talk of town ever since sex tapes with her ex-boyfriend Joal Ong were LEAKED but it's only recently that she finally addressed the topic.

Photo from @bellywellyjelly

In an open letter on Harper's Bazaar, Christabel shed light on how life has been for her following that incident; dealing with offensive remarks and receiving sexually provocative comments from anonymous users.

Here's her full letter:

Dear You,

I’m Christabel (many of you know me as “@bellywellyjelly”) and I want to talk to you about something that happened to me very recently. I spent the last couple of weeks coming to terms with what has happened, and now that I’m in the right headspace, I’m ready to address the situation because I do feel it’s important to do so.

Since the incident happened, a few individuals have reached out to me to let me know that they are going through the same torment of being sexually harassed. This is an open letter to let you know that you are not alone and that I stand with you.

In the last month, I have had my privacy violated and my modesty disregarded. An influx of lewd messages that can only be classified as sexual harassment have poured in after private videos, taken during a committed four-year relationship, and obtained by an anonymous source, flooded the internet. I am still getting them to this day.

When it first happened, I felt scared, humiliated, violated; and I did not know what to do. Who do I call? What do I say? And how do I make it all go away? Knowing that any action on my part could escalate the situation left me petrified. To be thrown headlong into a situation of such chaos and verbal abuse was very hard to deal with at first. It was as if the leak of those videos had declared open season on me: My modesty was discussed crudely in forums; people created anonymous email addresses and Instagram profiles to send me rude messages that detailed the perverse thoughts they had of me; angry messages were sent to my friends, family, and clients that I’d worked with. It was as if I was no longer worthy of being a daughter, a friend or an individual with any right to privacy. The Internet became a major source of pain and torment. I spent the first week or so coming to terms with what had happened, looking for any silver lining that I could cling to. It was only through the love from family and friends that I was thankfully able to find the strength and support I needed to stay afloat.

The Internet has always been a platform for me to spread joy, love and happiness. Yet, out of the tumult of emotions that descended on me, the sharpest that I’ve felt is disappointment. Disappointment at the blatant disregard for privacy and lack of basic human decency that many individuals have shown during this incident. I stand against cyber bullying and sexual harassment. And I certainly condemn the reckless sharing of private material in celebration of humiliation and amusement.

So if you are someone who has gone through a similar situation, if you have been harassed, violated or assaulted, then this letter is for you because I want you to know, and believe, that you are not any less of a respectable human being because of it. People will certainly say otherwise – in the last two months, I have truly seen the best and worst of humanity – but I urge you to shut those voices out, reach out to your family, friends or someone you can trust to find strength and carry on. Or, if reaching out to people around you is not a viable option, there are hotlines that you can call for help (they’re listed at the end of this post). Make the call and speak to someone. Don’t let what has happened to you define you but shape you.

More importantly, I want you to know that there are actions that you can take, including the legal ones listed below. I’m not saying that it’s going to be easy but find strength in the fact that you can make a stand and take charge of your situation. And now, hopefully, you’ll know how. So make a stand and know that I stand with you.

Now, and always,
Christabel

Christabel Felt "Scared, Violated And Humiliated"

Photo from @bellywellyjelly

Since the sex tapes leaked, Christabel has been receiving countless of sexually explicit messages from anonymous users on social media and it is still happening today :(

My modesty was discussed crudely in forums; people created anonymous email addresses and Instagram profiles to send me rude messages that detailed the perverse thoughts they had of me; angry messages were sent to my friends, family, and clients that I’d worked with. It was as if I was no longer worthy of being a daughter, a friend or an individual with any right to privacy. The Internet became a major source of pain and torment.

If there's only one thing she should be thankful for, it's that she's blessed with the love and support of her family and friends that helped her tide over this traumatic experience.

Here's a 'thanks for being there, dad' message she dedicated to her father last month.

Photo from @bellywellyjelly

Here's What That Incident Is About

In case you've never heard of it, a series of sex tapes and intimate photos taken during Christabel and her ex-boyfriend Joal Ong's 4-years committed relationship and they were leaked all over the internet. The videos started spreading like wildfire overnight and eventually made it up onto many unspeakable sites. There were also countless re-blogs on tumblr and popular forums! #omg

Though most of the videos have since been removed, it can still be seen when Googled. From one girl to another, we just hope that those content would be removed soon :(

Who Leaked The Sex Tapes?

Shortly after Christabel and her ex-boyfriend Joal Ong broke up, an "anonymous source" apparently hacked into Joal's iCloud and leaked the content. Today, we understand that Christabel is still trying to track the "anonymous source".

Though it's not confirmed, we have a feeling we know who's behind this but no names shall be mentioned *angry*

In case you couldn't get the innuendo, here's what Xiaxue have to say about this unfortunate incident that really destroyed our poor Christabel.

Christabel And Joal's Relationship

The (ex) couple met on set for one of SmartLocal's video shoot where they were often paired as an on-screen couple. Shortly after, Joel revealed that he asked her out for a date and their relationship slowly blossomed.

Joal Ong was a popular Instagrammer and local YouTuber who would often travel the world with Christabel, posting vlogs of their adventures with Christabel JustAnotherCouple (it's since been taken down).

Christabel Is Here To Say "No" To Cyber Bullying And Sexual Harassment!

As shared in her open letter, Christabel's been receiving lots of cyber bullying and sexual harassment and it's shown her the worst of humanity.

No matter how 'perfect' one's life may seem on social media, it doesn't give anyone else the right to shame or judge them. To send crude messages and critic her based on what's been done to her by others is no doubt, a form of bullying.

“I stand against cyber bullying and sexual harassment. And I certainly condemn the reckless sharing of private material in celebration of humiliation and amusement.”