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Dee Kosh (Darryl Koshy)

Revision as of 10:26, 20 August 2020 by Dayana Rizal (talk | contribs) (→‎Sexual harassment allegations (2020))

Dee Kosh (born 2 November 1988 as Darryl Ian Koshy) is a Singaporean YouTuber[1] and online personality. As of June 2020, Dee Kosh has 379,000 subscribers on YouTube, 228,000 followers on Instagram and over 206,000 followers on Twitter.

Dee Kosh
Dee Kosh.jpg
Born
Darryl Ian Koshy

2 November 1988
Philippines
NationalitySingaporean
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)

Background

Early life & family

Dee Kosh was born in the Philippines as Darryl Ian Koshy on 2 November 1988.[2] During his schooling years in the Philippines, Dee Kosh was teased for his skin colour[3] and started telling jokes to overcome his insecurities.[4] Even though his parents are ethnically Indian and Chinese,[5] he states that he is "Malay by heart".[6] He returned to Singapore in April 2010 to serve his national service requirements.[7]

YouTube

Dee Kosh - Content creator (2011 - present day)

 
Dee Kosh pictured as Ria Warna in the thumbnail for this video.

According to YouTube, Dee Kosh's channel was created in 2006. However, he only begun uploading videos in 2011. His first video titled 'Dee Kosh' was uploaded on 31 January 2011.[8] Dee Kosh's channel is characterised by comedic vlog-style content and skits where he dresses up as characters like Xiao Tina,[9] Lechme[10] and Ria Warna.[11] As of June 2020, his most viewed video is ‘Singaporean Style (Gangnam Style Parody)’ with 3.2 million views.

Dee Kosh - Talent management

 
From left to right: Shi Song, Ben, Hamza and Xinde pictured in a 2019 YouTube video.

Over the years, Dee Kosh has introduced five personalities to his YouTube platform. As of 2020, he manages the following influencers.

Name Instagram Following* Year joined
Marcus Tan Profile 16,700 2020
Keith Profile 12,200
Putra Profile 6,688 2019
Hamza Zaidi Profile 66,900 2018
Go Shi Song Profile 72,800 2017
Xinde Yap Profile 73,200 Est. 2016
Ben Tang Profile 123,000 Est. 2015

*The numbers are correct as of August 2020.

Putra and Hamza were formally introduced on 22 November 2019[12] and 9 November 2018[13] respectively. Shi Song first appeared on the channel in a video titled 'Why we need SEX DOLLS' that was uploaded on 30 July 2017. Meanwhile, Ben appeared on Dee Kosh's channel as early as 2015[14] and Xinde followed soon after some time in 2016.[15]

Night Owl Cinematics (NOC)

 
Dee Kosh pictured with NOC's Ryan Tan (left) and Aiken Chia (right) in the thumbnail for a Food King episode.

As late as July 2020, Dee Kosh was listed as a 'partner' on NOC's website in addition to producing, hosting and acting in their videos. In light of the sexual harassment allegations made against Dee Kosh in August 2020, his management reportedly withdrew his services from NOC.[16] A statement by NOC that was released on 19 August 2020 clarified that he was only engaged as a freelance content partner and was never a business shareholder.[17] Dee Kosh is most prominently recognised for Food King[18], which he has been hosting since 2017[19] and Do It For The Money, a segment where he engages with random passers-by.[20]

Collaborations

Dee Kosh has created content with various online personalities over the years. On his channel, Dee Kosh has a series with Hirzi Zulkiflie titled SYAxRIA. As of June 2020, the series has seven episodes.[21]

Guest features

 
Dee Kosh as Xiao Tina pictured with Xiaxue.

The following table lists some of the channels that Dee Kosh has appeared on.

Year Channel Video title Refs.
2020 Wah!banana Too Killer Game S3E6 - Dee Kosh Brings The Drama Video
Universal Music Singapore Universal & Friends Present: Stay Home (Official Music Video) Video
2019 JianHao Tan 16 Types of Students on Picture Day Video
2018 Warner Music Singapore Why Don't We: Daniel and Jack go speechless when Corbyn sings a love song to... Video
2017 Xiaxue Xiao Tina gets a Nicole Choo makeover?! + Influencer gossip Video
2016 JianHao Tan UNCENSORED: DEE KOSH'S REAL SEXUALITY Video
YAAAS TV The Truth About Dee Kosh Video
2015 TheSmartLocal Singaporeans Try: Christmas Pop Quiz (feat. Dee Kosh) | EP 31 Video
2014 Naomi Neo The Blindfold Challenge with Dee Kosh Video

Radio (2012 - present day)

Dee Kosh was a part-time presenter at the Power 98FM. According to a statement by the radio station, Dee Kosh applied for leave in light of the sexual harassment allegations against him in August 2020.[22][23]

Shows

Dee Kosh’s started his radio career in April 2012 as the host for 987FM’s Say It With Music segment.[24] He hosted the segment until January 2013 when he started co-hosting The Double D Show with Divian Nair.[25] In 2014, he left 987FM and joined POWER 98FM. As of June 2020, he has a show on weekday nights from 9 pm to 12 am.[26]

Year Show segment Radio station Refs.
2014 - present day Up All Night 98FM [27][28]
2013 The Double D Show 987FM [29]
2012 Say It With Music

Hosting

Events

Year Event Organiser Refs.
2019 Youth Music Awards (YMA) *SCAPE and INVASION Singapore [30]
2015 National Day Parade 2015: Celebrations at The Float SAFRA and People's Association [31]
Asia’s Got Talent (AGT) 2015 - [32]
2013 2013 FHM Models Top Ten - [33]

Newsworthy incidents

Sexual harassment allegations (2020)

On 15 August 2020, several underage individuals came forth on Instagram and Twitter with allegations and conversation screenshots that incriminated Dee Kosh.[34] Subsequently, one of the minors was served a lawyer's cease and desist letter to take down his posts.[35][36] However, it was reported on 17 August 2020 that Dee Kosh's lawyers had withdrawn their involvement from the case.[37] That same day, Dee Kosh released an apology statement on Instagram where he also addressed one of his conversations with a 15-year-old boy.[38] A portion of his apology post reads as such:

"... even though I had put out on an earlier statement on Instastories denying allegations which had surfaced initially, I now admit that there is truth to some of the things which are being said now, and I am sorry to the people I have hurt in the process... There are some screenshots circulating of me texting with a 15-year-old that I now accept is problematic. My tone was questionable, but there was absolutely no intent to groom him."[39]

According to TODAY, at least four police reports were filed by 17 August 2020.[40] Three of the alleged victims are 17 years old while one is 15 years old.[41] On 19 August 2020, The Straits Times reported that six police reports have been filed.[42]

'Nineteen' by Nicole Choo (2018)

 
Hirzi and Dee Kosh pictured in their apology video to Nicole Choo.

In 2018, local YouTuber Nicole Choo published a collection of poetry in conjunction with the BuySingLit campaign. Following the release, Dee Kosh and Hirzi uploaded a YouTube video criticising the book. In the video, they pointed out that Nicole’s work read more like "social media captions" than poetry.[43] The video was later taken down due to an alleged copyright issue. The Associate Editor of Rice Media, Julian Wong addressed Dee Kosh’s video through an article titled 'At 19, Nicole Choo is A Published Poet. So What?'. Julian argues that it was unfair for them to have undermined Nicole Choo’s work in such an insensitive and crass manner. [44] The article also included encouraging sentiments from the local Youth Poet Ambassador Pooja Nansi who felt that poetry was subjective and that everyone should have the opportunity to express their creativity. On 25 May 2018, Dee Kosh and Hirzi posted an apology video to Nicole Choo.[45]

BTS ARMY social experiment (2018)

 
The video in which Dee Kosh revealed the social experiment.

On 18 October 2018, Dee Kosh posted the following tweet:

“Unpopular Opinion : BTS’s songs all sound the same. I need something fresh! Come on now….”.[46]

The tweet provoked negatively responses from the K-pop group's fans. Subsequently, it appeared that Dee Kosh’s YouTube channel had been deleted. He then posted a video where he seemed distressed, saying that the fans had gone too far by emailing his bosses at the radio station.[47] On 20 October 2018, Dee Kosh revealed that the stunt was a social experiment to show the effect of ‘mob mentality’.[48]

Eden Ang exposé (2018)

For more information on the incident, refer to Eden Ang.

Dee Kosh initially spoke out about Eden Ang’s sexual harassment incident on Instagram (IG) Live where he revealed the evidence that was sent to him by the alleged victim.[49] He then uploaded a compilation of the IG Live videos to his YouTube channel. His video sparked more responses from others involved the incident, which resulted in the unfolding of the saga.

Smash or Pass video (2017)

In 2017, JianHao Tan, Ryan Sylvia and Dee Kosh collaborated to produce a YouTube video where they rated the attractiveness of other local influencers based on whether they would have sex with them.[50] The video provoked criticism and prompted reactions from the likes of Noah Yap, XiaXue[51] and Naomi Neo. Noah Yap in particular responded with a video of his own in which he reflected on the "drama" of the industry.[52] In January 2020, the issue resurfaced in Channel News Asia's 'The Big Read: Power, fame and fortune - a glimpse into Singapore’s lucrative YouTube industry'.

Awards & accolades

In 2015, Dee Kosh was nominated for two awards in the Singapore Social Media Awards (SSMAs). Held in May 2015 and hosted by Aaron Jansen and Cleo Chew, the SSMAs was an independently run online awards show acknowledging Singaporean online content creators.[53] The results show spanned three episodes on YouTube, accompanied by additional interview videos (YouTube channel playlist).

Year Award Title Awarding organisation Refs.
2015 Collab of the Year Nominee Singapore Social Media Awards (SSMA) [54]
Online Series of the Year Nominee

References / Citations

  1. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Dee Kosh". YouTube. January 31, 2011. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  2. ↑ “Dee Kosh - About”. Facebook. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Dee Kosh. "My Pinoy Childhood". YouTube. July 24, 2015. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  4. ↑ “Dee Kosh”. Askfm. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Does my MOM know me well??". YouTube. May 10, 2019. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  6. ↑ “Dee Kosh - About”. Facebook. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  7. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Dee Kosh". YouTube. January 31, 2011. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  8. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Dee Kosh". YouTube. January 31, 2011. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  9. ↑ Dee Kosh. "XiaoTina & Xin De Yap COUPLE TAG". YouTube. October 13, 2017. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  10. ↑ Dee Kosh. "A PAINFUL Trivia Game". YouTube. March 1, 2019. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  11. ↑ DeeKosh. "SYAxRIA E07 : The Wuhan Virus AKA Covid-19". YouTube. February 21, 2020. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Dee Kosh. "School Bullies + Nudes + CONSPIRACY PALETTE". YouTube. November 22, 2019. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Banana Peels And KUKU Birds?!". YouTube. November 9, 2018. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  14. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Overused Horror Scenes". YouTube. October 30, 2015. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Dee Kosh. "Things Bros NEVER Do". YouTube. January 15, 2016. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  16. ↑ Yeap, Amanda. "Dee Kosh Now Removed Entirely From NOC Website, Decision Requested By His Managers". MustShare News. August 19, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  17. ↑ N.O.C - Night Owl Cinematics. "Our statement.". Facebook. August 19, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  18. ↑ Ryan Sylvia. "Food King Singapore: FUNNIEST Moments | Clapbacks, Jokes, And Singing!". YouTube. May 29, 2020. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  19. ↑ Ryan Sylvia. "Food King Singapore 2017". YouTube. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Ryan Sylvia. "DO IT FOR THE MONEY". YouTube. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  21. ↑ Dee Kosh. "SYAxRIA". YouTube. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  22. ↑ Ong, Grace. "Radio station POWER 98 distances from Dee Kosh after sexual allegations". Marketing Interactive. August 18, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  23. ↑ Anjali Raguraman. "Celebrities, Aware weigh in on sexual harassment claims against DJ Dee Kosh; police looking into claims". The Straits Times. August 19, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  24. ↑ Azliah. “The Double Ds: New funny guys on Singapore radio”. Yahoo Lifestyle. April 12, 2013. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  25. ↑ Azliah. “The Double Ds: New funny guys on Singapore radio”. Yahoo Lifestyle. April 12, 2013. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  26. ↑ POWER 98 Love Songs. “About”. Facebook. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  27. ↑ “Dee Kosh”. Power 98FM. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "Welcome to POWER 98 LOVE SONGS!". Facebook. July 15, 2019. Accessed on 13 January 2020.
  29. ↑ Azliah. “The Double Ds: New funny guys on Singapore radio”. Yahoo Lifestyle. April 12, 2013. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  30. ↑ “Inaugural Youth Music Awards themed “Catching Feelings” To Celebrate Local Music Representing The Best Different Moments In Life”. Scape. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  31. ↑ “NDP 2015 Celebrations at The Float Fact Sheet”. SAFRA. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  32. ↑ Asia’s Got Talent. “Fresh off the stage interview 1 | Ep 1 | Behind the scenes with Dee Kosh”. YouTube. March 20, 2015. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  33. ↑ "2013 APR FHM Models Top Ten, Bugis Junction, Singapore". xtemujin 360 resources Singapore. April 20, 2018. Accessed on 20 February 2019. Retrieved from Wordpress.
  34. ↑ "YouTube personality Dee Kosh apologises following allegations of sexual harassment". Channel News Asia Lifestyle. August 18, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  35. ↑ _epaul. "against all odds, we will continue the fight🤍✊🏻". Instagram. August 16, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  36. ↑ Anjali Raguraman. "Deejay Dee Kosh investigated over sexual harassment claims". The Straits Times. August 19, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  37. ↑ Fayyadhah Zainalabiden. "S’pore DJ Dee Kosh On Leave As Lawyers Withdraw From Alleged Sexual Harassment Case". MustShare News. August 17, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  38. ↑ Meah, Natasha. "YouTuber and DJ Dee Kosh apologises for ‘questionable’ tone with teenage boy amid police probe into alleged sexual harassment". TODAY. August 17, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  39. ↑ deekosh. "I'm sorry.". Instagram. August 17, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  40. ↑ Meah, Natasha. "Police investigating reports filed against YouTuber and DJ Dee Kosh over alleged sexual harassment of teenage boys". TODAY. August 17, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  41. ↑ Ibid.
  42. ↑ Anjali Raguraman. "Celebrities, Aware weigh in on sexual harassment claims against DJ Dee Kosh; police looking into claims". The Straits Times. August 19, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  43. ↑ MuttonSoda Channel. “Nicole Choo book review with Syasya and Xiaotina (REPOST)”. YouTube. April 30, 2018. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  44. ↑ Wong, Julian. “At 19, Nicole Choo is A Published Poet. So What?”. Rice Media. May 28, 2018. Accessed from 24 January 2019.
  45. ↑ Dee Kosh. “WE’RE SORRY NICOLE CHOO!!”. YouTube. May 25, 2018. Accessed on 12 February 2019.
  46. ↑ Dee Kosh. Twitter. October 15, 2018. Accessed on 13 February 2019. Retrieved from: https://twitter.com/TheDeeKosh/status/1052933791797280768
  47. ↑ Monique Danao. “Here’s The Dee Kosh, BTS, Youtube Drama Explained”. Must Share News. October 20, 2018. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  48. ↑ Dee Kosh. "BTS ARMY Destroyed My Career? (A Social Experiment)". YouTube. October 20, 2018. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  49. ↑ Jewel Stolarchuk. “Dee Kosh reveals incriminating details as Eden Ang denies sexual harassing 18-year-old employee”. The Independent. January 27, 2018. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
  50. ↑ Peh, Marilyn. "How to respond to a social media spat". The Pride. February 24, 2017. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  51. ↑ Xiaxue. "SINGAPOREAN YOUTUBERS ARE HYPOCRITES". YouTube. February 18, 2017. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  52. ↑ Noah Yap. "MY THOUGHTS ON THE SINGAPORE YOUTUBE SCENE". YouTube. February 13, 2017. Accessed on 3 June 2020.
  53. ↑ Telescope. “Best of Online Entertainment in Singapore”. YouTube. May 16, 2015. Accessed on 13 February 2019.  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4u4Tvq_A7w&t=0s&list=PLM_XH3SnYRV0TlshX_2-XNYhQqS1dkxaA&index=2
  54. ↑ Kyle Malinda-White. “Gentle Bones, Munah & Hirzi Among Nominees For Singapore Social Media Awards 2015”. Popspoken. March 7, 2015. Accessed on 24 January 2019.
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