Steven Lim 'Kor Kor' discusses internet beefs that actually upset him, being 'very traumatised' after 2017 death of muay thai opponent

From stripping down to his swimming trunks while singing She Bangs on Singapore Idol in 2004, to having various internet beefs, Singaporean millennials either remember Steven Lim fondly or can't stand his over-the-top persona.

Even during his interview with The Daily Ketchup Podcast uploaded onto YouTube yesterday (April 2), the 48-year-old comedian punctuated his statements with flamboyant hand gestures and high-pitched tones, begging the question: What is Steven like off-camera?

Even host Johnathan Chua said: "I'm convinced that this is how he is, that this isn't a persona."

"It depends," Steven responded. "This is in front of the camera, it's entertainment."

This prompted Johnathan to ask, were they to become good friends and have coffee and dinner together, how would Steven behave?

"Of course then I'm not [like this]," Steven said, flailing his arms and screeching, adding that it would be easy for him not to slip back into his persona.

In the 50-minute clip, host Denise Oh also harkened back to 2007, when Steven and influencer Xiaxue went on a date on reality show Girls Out Loud and the latter seemed unimpressed by him. Denise asked how he took that.

"You guys know that I was paid to be there, it's totally just a show, but people blew it out of proportion," Steven said.

When Johnathan asked if the following beef between them was also for show, Steven disagreed: "The blog wars, of course I was offended, lah. Out of nowhere 'operate' on me. I'm the victim."

That year, Xiaxue put Steven at the top of her Top Seven Most Disgusting Bloggers (In the Singapore blogosphere) article.

Though the blog has now been made private, a search on the Wayback Machine shows her writing that his face is "the thing that's the most disgusting about him", while also making digs at his body and slamming him for "spitting saliva out when he spoke" on their date.

This prompted a video in return from Steven who stated that he was paid for the appearance and that he didn't find her attractive as well, mocking her plastic surgery and telling her: "Without the nose, you are nothing."

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In 2012, Steven was the subject of a rant video by a man named Aaron Tan and responded with a YouTube video of his own, even challenging Tan to a "perfectly legal sparring tournament with referee". Media reports at the time suggested that he may have paid Tan to start the conflict, but Steven denied it.

"I didn't even know the person," he told The Daily Ketchup Podcast.

However, Steven doesn't regret what he said to Tan, despite being in his mid-30s while the latter was only 19 then.

"I think this is part of a fantastic memory. I think the series of videos are part of the childhood memories of many, many teenagers of that time," he added.

Steven confirmed that he was actually angry when he berated Tan in his videos, which Johnathan appeared to doubt as Steven had reenacted parts of what he said back then "perfectly" on the podcast.

Steven, who has worked as an acting coach in recent years, quipped: "Sorry guys, but do you know who I am?"

'I was very traumatised'

Steven also let his serious side show while discussing the 2017 death of bodybuilder and World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) president Pradip Subramanian after their muay thai match at the Asia Fighting Championship.

Steven was initially supposed to fight fellow Singapore Idol contestant Sylvester Sim who pulled out due to insurance reasons, but said that the match had to go on as his fans had "already paid money to watch" it.

"I won the match fair and square with a TKO (technical knockout), after that he collapsed," Steven recalled. "I respected him a lot for actually coming to the ring as a last-minute replacement for Sylvester Sim.

"I was very shocked, very, very sad and very traumatised. Then the next day, even more traumatised when the police came to look for me. CID (Criminal Investigation Department) came to my house to take a statement, and then all the media haunted me."

Steven shared that he was criticised for not attending Subramanian's funeral, but he countered: "I had my concerns. If I went there, would it be a good thing? Would it be the right moment for me to be there?"

He was worried that Subramanian's family may have had concerns about his death at that point, until they finally got the confirmation that he had died of natural causes due to a heart condition.

While Steven never got the chance to meet the family, he said that he paid his respects to Subramanian through a social media post.

"He was a true hero, he had my deepest respects," Steven added.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m75V-wdW8k&ab_channel=TheDailyKetchupPodcast[/embed]

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drimac@asiaone.com

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