The Nas Academy insisted Thursday that the Whang-Od tattoo course was approved by her and her family.
The academy issued the statement after coming under fire after Whang-Od’s grandniece Gracia Palicas dubbed the online tattoo course featuring Whang-Od, who is one of the oldest traditional tattoo artists in the country, a “scam.”
In a Facebook post, Nas Academy, which is led by Arab-Israeli vlogger Nas Daily, said that they pitched the idea of creating a Whang-Od Academy to her and her family.
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“Her and her family present both loved this idea, and have worked WITH US to build it, with Whang-Od teaching herself,” Nas Academy said.
The academy even attached a video of Whang-Od affixing her thumbmark on the contract, saying that the tattoo artist’s niece, Estella Palangdao, was present and translated the content of the contract to her.
“This is the clearest evidence that it is not a scam and achieved the consent of her and her immediate family,” the academy said.
Further, the academy said everybody was compensated for their time and “for every sale the Whang-Od Academy generates, most of it went directly to her and her family.”
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“We just provided the technology and the marketing,” the academy said.
Nonetheless, the academy said it has temporarily taken down the course “out of respect for her family” and “while we resolve any issues that have arisen from these falsehoods.”
“40% of Nas Academy is made up of Filipinos. So for us, this is personal. We care deeply about the Philippines and respect the many cultures and traditions that exist across the country,” the academy said. (NM)
