A concept featuring staff styled as “human trays” and women posed as “living lamps” has drawn widespread backlash online, prompting apologies from both Nice Print Photo and Juan Carlo after clips from the event circulated across social media.

The visual language was hard to ignore. Servers balancing trays fitted around their heads, while women stood adorned in lamp-like headpieces, their faces obscured — part installation, part performance, entirely divisive. What some framed as avant-garde was, for many, a step too far.

“Regarding our 20th Anniversary event, we would like to address the conversations surrounding specific segments of our food service and entertainment presentation,” Nice Print Photo said in a statement released Sunday, 22 March.

“While the concept was intended as an artistic performance, we duly recognize that the execution was perceived by some as insensitive and may have caused discomfort. This was never our intention.”

The company issued a direct apology: “We sincerely apologize to those who may have felt discomfort as we fell short of the care and respect we strive to uphold… We will use this as an opportunity to reflect and be more mindful in how we bring creative concepts to life moving forward.”

Catering partner Juan Carlo followed with its own statement a day later. “We have seen the concerns raised… and we hear you,” it said. “As a catering team, we take full responsibility for how our service is experienced… We recognize that it may have caused discomfort to some.”

Online, the response was swift and unsparing. Users questioned not just the execution but the premise itself—whether turning people into décor, no matter how stylized, crossed into something more troubling. Words like “dehumanizing” and “out of touch” surfaced repeatedly, pointing to a larger discomfort with spectacle that treats the human body as prop.

Content creator Toni Sia, whose post amplified the moment, also issued an apology. “I sincerely apologize to everyone who felt hurt, offended, or uncomfortable because of it,” she wrote, admitting the caption she used “did not fully reflect the respect” she had for those involved.

The incident leaves behind a familiar question, one that surfaces whenever creativity collides with public sentiment: at what point does a concept stop being provocative and start becoming careless?