It’s like 1996 all over again.
Only instead of the Macarena, we’re dancing Gangnam Style.
Instead of watching the White House get blown up in Independence Day, we can watch the White House get blown up in Olympus Has Fallen.
And instead of talking about Ann Kok’s breasts at the Star Awards, we’re... uh, actually, we're talking about Ann Kok’s breasts at the Star Awards again.
I guess some things haven’t changed.
Or to be more exact, two things haven’t changed if you know what I mean.
The Straits Times reported that at last Sunday’s Star Awards, Kok “stirred up quite a fuss when she appeared braless in her cleavage-baring and figure-hugging Herve Leger dress”.
The caption under Kok’s picture called her “a pro - getting all dolled up like an aspiring porn star, just to give Singaporeans something to talk about”.
Despite pornography being officially banned in Singapore, The Straits Times isn’t the only publication to allude to porn when describing the MediaCorp actress’s risqué ensemble.
Is “porny” even a real word? I was surprised to find out that, according to Merriam-Webster online, it is.
Online is also where Kok’s Star Awards appearance has received many kudos, some of which could be rated “XXX” too.
One commenter wrote: “Wow, such a dress. Absolutely amazing when worn by her, I mean amazing for the male viewers.”
Other comments include “one hand can’t squeeze all”, “Looks bigger than before”, “fwahhhhhhh”, “Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh” and “fap fap fap”.
What’s more impressive is that Kok is getting this kind of attention at the ripe old age of 40.
As someone commented online: “Can’t tell she hit 40 already, still manage to keep such a good figure.”
Indeed, it may be hard to believe, but it has been 17 long years since the nation first became obsessed with Kok’s décolletage at the 1996 Star Awards.
On that fateful night, she wore a black see-through sheer top with a black bra underneath and we would never look at the former Star Search finalist the same way again.Many TV viewers were duly taken aback. One housewife told The New Paper: “I got quite a shock when I saw her because I thought she was a conservative person.”
A few months later, TNP reported that Kok was initially bothered by all the talk about her assets after the 1996 Star Awards, even among her own colleagues, who teased her or called her names.
“But now, I don’t care very much,” she said. “I’m used to it.”
Then came criticism about the size of her boobs. A stylist said: “She is dark, small and her breasts are too big for her frame. The distance between her breasts and navel is also too short. She is not very proportionate.”
Someone should measure that distance between Kok’s breasts and navel just to be sure. I volunteer!Almost paradoxically, there was also speculation that she had her bust surgically enhanced.
She told TNP in 2004: “It’s silly now, but I was hurt when they said that I had plastic surgery! I didn’t!”
But the rumours persisted such that in 2009, Kok allowed herself to be felt up by the female host of a Channel U talk show to prove that her boobs weren't fake.
After groping Kok’s breasts, the host, Quan Yifeng, who instantly became the envy of many men, said: “They are soft and must be real!”
By now, Kok is more famous for her treasured chest than anything else.
Search “Ann Kok” on YouTube and you'll find video clips of her in a bikini from Housewives’ Holiday and other shows, plus the scene from Love Concierge where she opens her top and reveals a pink bra.
Even that porny outfit from last Sunday is already on the video-sharing website.
After so many years, it seems Kok has finally come to truly embrace her most popular body part (or parts).
According to a 2011 Straits Times article: “In any interview, it is inevitable that Ann Kok’s famous breasts get in the way. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”
I don’t think even Fiona Xie would get a boob-centric write-up like that. The article about Kok continued:
“Asked if getting more attention for her ample bosom than her acting still annoys her, the actress replies with a laugh: ‘Not at all. If people still want to talk about my boobs and are happy doing that, then by all means.’”
Yes, people still want to talk about your boobs and thanks for giving us cause to do so for 17 years. It has made us very happy.
Kindly keep those jaw-dropping, figure-hugging, cleavage-baring Star Awards outfits coming.
Here’s to 17 more years, although by then, the distance between your breasts and navel will probably be even shorter.
But as the late great Dean Martin once sang, mammaries are made of this.
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- Published in The New Paper, 5 May 2013
26 NOVEMBER 2013 UPDATE: Ann Kok upset by focus on her body and not her acting
2014 UPDATE: Star Awards without Ann Kok is like a protest without dog poo
INSTAGRAM UPDATE:
25 years later, she's still talking about it. https://smong.net/2013/05/celebrating-singapores-17-year-love.html
Posted by SM Ong on Saturday, February 13, 2021
