'I've never been so angry, so hateful': NOC's Sylvia Chan responds to accusations of workplace abuse in Xiaxue interview

Night Owl Cinematics (NOC)'s co-founder Sylvia Chan finally shared her side of the story in an interview with veteran social media influencer Xiaxue, which was released on Sunday night (Oct 24).

The interview — almost two hours long — has garnered over 700,000 views and 5000 comments within a day, and is currently the number one trending video in Singapore on YouTube.  

Answering the question if she was an abusive boss, the 33-year-old told Wendy Cheng, better known as Xiaxue: "It's me playing this bad cop, until I've turned into this whole terrible person, that I don't want to be, I never want to be, but I don't know why I became that person."

Although she admitted that she might be seen as "crass" and "vulgar", Chan maintained, "I have never been so angry and so hateful."

"I’ve become a person that I don’t want to be and I’m very ashamed and I don’t want to lead my life continuously as this person,” she added. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmleiIerSz0[/embed]

When Cheng asked Chan why she has turned into such a person, the latter said she felt the need to "protect the business, to protect Ryan, [and] many [other] things." 

She said that Ryan Tan, NOC's co-founder and also her ex-husband, would "entrust" her to play the bad cop, and she would do so "willingly". 

"Because, I have to protect my good cop, right?" 

However, she reiterated that her need to "protect" her interests and Tan was not an excuse for her bad behaviour. 

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As the interview progressed, Chan also explained the context of the infamous YouTube video from a Zoom session, which showed her smirking when her ex-husband was confronting her about work-related issues. 

"I'm not saying my behaviour is the best, but I'm saying that he knows me well enough to say things that will make me very pissed off." 

She pointed out that Zoom footage was from August last year, and had been cherry-picked to show "the worst" and "the angriest" parts. 

Chan also claimed that her co-founder has a "habit of illegally recording people", and had previously "threatened" to release recordings of her, so that she would "keep [herself] in check." 

Still protecting the company 

Amid the saga, Chan also revealed that she is "struggling to keep the company afloat", because there are still "30 over people left in the company who are still doing their jobs", even though they may not have explicitly spoken up for her. 

"Talents who stay, they are staying quietly. I'm not gonna ask them to speak out, these people have shown me such loyalty at a time [when] I have nothing," she said. 

Providing a brief update on the situation in the video interview, Chan said that she has lodged about six police reports regarding the accusations made against her about sexual favours and the misappropriation of funds. 

Chan also posted a statement on Monday afternoon saying that she was "fully cooperating with workplace-related authorities", and will be "accountable for [her] actions". 

"I am truly sorry for all the wrongs I have done, and the mistakes I have made," she wrote. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CVchFhkratg/[/embed]

On a personal front, following her statement to "become kinder, more patient and more thoughtful", Chan also mentioned in the video that she is going for therapy. 

"It's tough, but I do have good people around me," she said at the end of the interview. 

claudiatan@asiaone.com