Chinese director Liu Xinda (刘信达) is famous for directing shows like “Lover Within Reach (触手可及爱人)” and “Fall In Love with You (偏偏爱上你)”. However, in more recent years, Liu has taken to criticising various Chinese artistes.
His most recent criticism seems to stem from the Kris Wu scandal. Not only did he expose several artistes for acting indecently, he also called for the shutdown of a popular variety show “Happy Camp (快乐大本营)”.
On 5th September, Liu made waves when he called for variety show “Happy Camp (快乐大本营)” to be shut down and for two artistes, He Jiong (何炅) and Xie Na (谢娜) to be expelled from the entertainment circle. According to Liu, the show had allowed artistes such as Kris Wu (李嘉恒), Zheng Shuang (郑意涵), Zhang Zhehan (张哲瀚) and Zhao Wei (赵薇) to display indecent acts. “Yelling, putting gold on their face; (the show) acts an an accomplice, poisoning countless young people,” the director wrote passionately.
The following day, Liu defended his argument by posting several intimate photos of artistes He Jiong and Xie Na. “One is a married man, the other is a married woman,” he lamented. “They openly hug and kiss each other.” The director mournfully asked if the two were aware of their influence on the younger generation.
“They are so (well known),” he said. “How can they (act like this)?” Along with He Jiong’s photos with Xie Na, there were also photos of He Jiong with other female artistes like Zanilia Zhao (赵丽颖), Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) and Zhao Wei.
His posts garnered attention from netizens, both positive and negative. Some supported him and his views that the variety show had done damage. “I personally feel that “Happy Camp” and “Up Everyday (天天向上)” do not know what to show and are very boring,” one comment read.
However, other netizens left scathing comments while some requested he calm down. “This kind of practice (exposing artistes online) is really disgusting,” one stated. Another comment read: “What do you think this is? Do you think you are some (big shot)? See if people are bothered with you. Is it ok to (complain) here?”
As China has started regulating the way their artistes act, it’s no surprise that some people feel the need to speak up in “righteous anger”. Yet, doing it online may only serve to make Liu a bigger target for fans.
It is unclear if Liu’s call to take down both the variety show and the two artistes will be effective. Only time will tell, we suppose.
