Đỗ Nguyễn Mai Khôi was born in 1982 in Cam Ranh, Vietnam. Khôi's interest in music began in childhood, learning guitar from her music teacher father at 8 years old and playing with him at weddings from the age of 12. She later attended a music school in Ho Chi Minh City for three years but left without graduating, instead playing in pubs and bars around the city.
Musical career
In 2010, Khôi achieved national fame after winning the Vietnam Television 2010 Album of the Year Award, using her national platform to agitate for better women's rights and LGBT rights in her country. For example, she spoke against Đàm Vĩnh Hưng's suggestion that domestic violence was "acceptable" against women who were "too aggressive", and criticised social acceptance of violence against women. Khôi attracted controversy for shaving half of her head into the letters "VN" to represent "Vietnam" after her winning song of the same name. She was criticised in Vietnamese state media for her expressed preference not to have children as well as her boundary-pushing outfits and songs such as "Selfie Orgasm", which garnered criticism for nudity and coarse language in the music video. After she began arguing in favour of greater creative freedom and stopped submitting her song lyrics to censors, the Vietnamese government banned her performances in the country, with police raiding her concerts. Khôi has toured overseas, including in the United States, Australia, Europe, Mexico, and Cuba.
Political activism
In 2016, Khôi took part in environmental protests against Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation following the marine life disaster caused by its waste dumping. She also applied to run as an independent for a seat in the National Assembly of Vietnam, but was disqualified from participating by the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. Following her attempt to enter politics, she was subject to increased official persecution, including police raids of her concerts and landlords being pressured by authorities to evict her and her husband from their home. Since 2017, she has leased a flat under a friend's name in a secret location in Hanoi. She has also criticised Facebook for cooperating with internet censorship requirements imposed by the Vietnamese Government, stating it was damaging one of the last refuges for freedom of expression in the repressive state. It also prevented her live-streaming music due to the risk of instant arrest. She was one of the political dissidents that U.S. President Barack Obama met with on his visit to the country in 2016. She had gone into hiding before the meeting to avoid being detained and prevented from attending the meeting. The following day she was visited by four policemen who intimidated her. When Obama's successor Donald Trump visited the country in 2017, Khôi held up a banner reading "PeacePiss on you Trump" in protest of Trump's alleged racism and supposed failure to promote human rights. The following day, she and her husband were evicted from their Hanoi apartment following a visit by government agents. In 2018, Amnesty International named Khôi as one of the "12 inspiring human rights activists to follow" for that year. Later that year, she was detained for eight hours at Nội Bài International Airport in Hanoi after returning from a European tour, with all copies of her new album Dissent in her possession confiscated by the authorities.
Personal life
Khôi married her Australian partner, Benjamin Swanton, in 2013. They live in Hanoi.
