Netizens have commented on the uplifting qualities of her parody and praised her comedic performance during this difficult and uncertain time. “Thank you for bringing laughter to all of us living through this in Hong Kong precisely when we needed it,” one user expressed amongst the hundreds of comments on Mak’s YouTube upload.
Mak, a veteran of local productions and Hong Kong’s Secret Theatre shows, told Localiiz that “when preparing for the fundraiser event, I wanted to sing something light and cheerful. Since I have done a parody before which my friends liked, I thought it would be perfect to do one about what everyone is going through. It took me a few hours over about three days. [...] I chose Torn because I love the song and singing it. Then, one line of the parody lyrics came to mind and then I knew this is the one and wrote the remaining lyrics.”
“While writing it, I did think my friends would really like it if I shared it, but I didn’t anticipate the amount of attention it’s gotten now,” she admits. “[I’m] so glad to have made so many people laugh.”