George Floyd: Miss Malaysia says African-Americans ‘chose to be born coloured’

A former Miss Universe winner has sparked widespread criticism after claiming African-Americans “chose to be born ‘coloured’”.

A former Miss Universe has sparked criticism online after making a series of offensive comments on Instagram about the Black Lives Matter protests.

Samantha Katie James, who was crowned Miss Malaysia in 2017, posted multiple remarks about the demonstrations against police brutality and racism in the US which began following the shock death of African-American man George Floyd last week.

The 25-year-old told her 164,000 followers that the protests were proof “the whites (have) won” and addressed the black people involved by telling them to “relax”, saying they “chose to be born as a ‘coloured’ person for a reason”.

Her multiple posts – which she has since defended – have been met with huge backlash from furious followers.

RELATED: George Floyd: Timeline from arrest to death

Former Miss Universe Malaysia has made multiple offensive claims about the Black Lives Matter protests in the US. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

“Imagine telling black people to ‘just relax’ as if this isn’t something they’ve been dealing with for YEARS,” one person commented on her Instagram feed.

“No one CHOSE to be born a certain colour. Black people have been protesting for YEARS and yet they still get racially profiled and killed because white privilege allows it,” another said.

“Racism is not a personal issue. It is a systemic and structural issue rooted from history, years and years and years and years and years of slavery. It is not their choice, the black community, to be black,” someone else raged.

On the post, she claimed ‘the “whites” won’. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

Her remarks sparked a huge online backlash. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

Others said the comments were the “most stupidest” thing they’d ever heard someone say, while someone else called for a “petition to revoke the Miss Malaysia title”.

Despite the fierce criticism online, Ms James has since responded to some of the backlash in a fresh series of Instagram Stories.

In one she said she had experienced racial discrimination for being a “white girl born in local Malaysian school”.

“I’ve always wondered all my life why I’m born here in Malaysia with a Chinese mother and a Brazilian father and raised by an Indian family. So I speak from first-hand experience,” she told someone who challenged her views.

In another post, again responding to a critic who called her “stupid”, she said: “Yes I’m stupid.”

While another post she branded the backlash “foolish” and adorned the message with a hand to face GIF.

There have been calls for her Miss Universe title to be stripped. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

Her initial posts had been just as bold, revealing she thought the protests were a “challenge” for African-Americans to rise to.

“I don’t live in America and it has nothing to do with me, but to me, it seems like the ‘whites’ won,” she wrote in her first post.

“If you’re angry, you response in rage and anguish and that means it has power over you. They have power over you.”

She has defended her claims in new posts. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

She also said she ‘speaks from experience’. Picture: Instagram/samanthakayty

“Relax, take it as a challenge, makes you stronger,” she said.

“You chose to be born as a ‘coloured’ person in America for a reason. To learn a certain lesson.

“Accept it as it is, till (sic) now hunger and poverty still exists. It is what it is. It’s inevitable. Best you can do is remain calm, protect heart, don’t allow it to crumble.

“That’s your responsibility.”

George Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after being arrested for the alleged use of a counterfeit note.

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness. The 46-year-old was pronounced dead in hospital less than an hour after leaving the scene in an ambulance.

The officer has been charged with third-degree murder.

On Monday the family released the results of an independent autopsy that found Floyd died at the scene from “asphyxiation from sustained pressure.”

His family and legal team also called on protesters to refrain from violence and looting.

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