It’s been over a week since Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), a.k.a Big S (大S), passed away. Unfortunately, there are also some terrible issues plaguing her death, notably the issues with the late star’s ex-husband Wang Xiao Fei (汪小菲) and his mother, Zhang Lan (张兰).
Recently, Chinese social media platform Douyin announced it has permanently banned Wang Xiao Fei and Zhang Lan’s accounts for violating the platforms’ regulations.
Following Barbie’s death, Wang Xiaofei and Zhang Lan have repeatedly sparked outrage for using the actress’ passing to seek traffic on social media. Netizens argued that the two were spreading rumours to rebuild their image after the star’s death.
Previously, there were rumours that Wang Xiao Fei was the one who paid for the chartered flight that Barbie’s family took to bring her ashes back to Taiwan from Japan. Barbie’s sister, Dee Hsu (徐熙娣), refuted the rumours, clarifying that her family paid for all expenses. It was argued that the rumour stemmed from an internet personality who had ties to Zhang Lan, leading netizens to believe the rumour was to put Wang Xiao Fei in a good light after his wife’s death.
Following various reports from netizens, Douyin announced the banning of Wang Xiao Fei and Zhang Lan’s accounts. According to the platform, the ban was for “repeatedly publishing false and infringing content to conduct illegal hype” and “disrespecting the deceased and the families”. At the same time, Weibo also suspended Zhang Lan’s account from live streaming for similar reasons and cleared up more than 2,000 rumours involving Barbie’s death.
Wang Xiao Fei would later respond to the ban, arguing he shouldn’t be punished for his mother’s actions. However, in the same WeChat Moments post, the businessman apologised on behalf of Zhang Lan, adding that he disagreed with her behaviour. He then said he would sever all ties with her, likely to show remorse. Unfortunately, netizens are still critical of the 43-year-old, saying that his recent outburst is just another false act to gain sympathy.
Zhang Lan has also disagreed with Douyin’s decision to ban her account. She’s reportedly planning to move to other platforms to continue promoting her business. In the meantime, Barbies’ fans reacted positively to the suspensions, thanking Douyin and Weibo for fulfilling the late star’s final wish. During her lifetime, Barbie has repeatedly called for social media platforms to take action against her ex-mother-in-law for harassment and infringement of rights.
Perhaps a little late, but it’s good to know that Chinese social media are cracking down on irresponsible users who are spreading false information and disrespecting Barbie Hsu. What are your thoughts on this?
