Football fans divided as MC in bikini ‘seals’ World Cup spot in Vietnam

By Nguyen Nguyen   June 26, 2018 | 05:17 pm PT
Football fans divided as MC in bikini ‘seals’ World Cup spot in Vietnam
Female host Thu Hang wearing bikini in a World Cup prediction show on pay TV. Photo captured from K+ video on Facebook
While some loved the sexy touch, others called it disrespect to the main game, and women in general.

Thu Hang speaks confidently about the upcoming soccer match of the day.

Then she turns to the real star of the show, Molly the seal, to predict its outcome.

Molly the seal is an old hand at this. She looks at the three baskets placed in front of her.

The one in the middle has a white flag and the flanking baskets carry the flags of the teams playing the match.

Using her divining power, the seal seals the deal by throwing a ball into one of the three baskets.

The “Russian Prophet” show, aired on pay TV channel K+ Sports News, has attracted many viewers.

The sexy host is one of the attractions of the show, because she wears a bikini and a see-through white cloth that accentuates her curves.

However, it was not long before the skimpy nature of Hang’s outfit became controversial.

The show is streamed live on the TV channel's Facebook page, and posts with Hang wearing bikinis last week received much more interactions than those with her in normal coach outfits. Views for the posts increased five times and comments 10 times.

Many viewers said the bikini touch has made the sports program less serious and more fun to watch.

“I don’t really care about the seal, but I like the host’s outfit,” a viewer commented on the channel's Facebook page.

"I'm here for the MC, I don't care about the results," another said.

But many dismissed the bikini as a click-bait trick, which took attention away from the world's most important football event.

Some said they thought they accidentally turned on a erotic site and it was not suitable to show such outfit on a program for general viewers.

A representative from the TV channel told local media that as the show was shot in a pool, the host was wearing a swimsuit so she could familiarize herself with the seals.

[Caption] Female host Thu Hang wearing a more appropriate swimsuit after her bikini outfit raised controversy. Photo captured from K+ video on Facebook

A screenshot from a Facebook video shows female host Thu Hang wearing a more appropriate swimsuit after her bikini outfit raised controversy.

However, the channel seems to have listened to its viewers. Thu Hang was wearing a more “appropriate” swimsuit starting Sunday, her body covered completely from the neck down.

Earlier, Vietnam television also attracted debates when female MCs showed up in World Cup programs in clothes showing off their breasts, leading discussions before and after matches. What bothered die-hard fans were the women did not hold adequate soccer knowledge for the job, with some of their comments being laughed off as "silly."

Feminists said that parading women in thin outfit and making them look stupid is disrespectful.

 
 
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