Benjamin Yuen Responds to Criticism on His Aging Looks
A couple of days ago, Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪) posted photos of him and his wife, Bowie Cheung (張寶兒), at the 2020 TVB Anniversary Awards. As the 39-year-old actor has a 10-year age gap with his wife of almost two months, netizens verbally attacked him for his aging looks and even labeled the former Mr. Hong Kong winner as “ugly.” Fired up, Benjamin immediately penned a lengthy post on Instagram responding to those comments.
He wrote, “My body has its good and bad days too. I spend many hours filming each day, and I can’t eat because I don’t want to look fat on-screen. It really isn’t easy.”
Continuing, he explained that he chose to exercise during his half-day off before the ceremony, which is why he looked tired and not at his best. He said, “I can’t help it. I don’t want to waste a second of my life – even if you think I’ve gotten out of shape after marriage or that I’ve become an ugly man.”
He went on to share that everyone gets older, and with more ability comes greater responsibility. He has been working hard to earn money to take care of his family and pay off the mortgage, which has led to his fatigued appearance these days. He ended the post with, “Thank you for your criticism. Please continue to criticize me and say that I am a gold digger, say that I am a prostitute, say that I depend on others, or that my acting sucks. Your criticism will only make me work harder on myself. I will continue to build on my own life.”
Many of Benjamin’s fans and good friends, including Yeung Chiu Hoi (楊潮凱), Brian Tse (謝東閔), Jazz Lam (林子善), and Joel Chan (陳山聰), immediately left messages to show their support and encouragement. Though many could sense the actor’s anger then, he seems to have recovered, as he updated his Instagram with photos at 5 a.m. after getting up for work with some pictures of the sunrise and bees collecting nectar.
Source: Eastweek
This article is written by Hailey for JayneStars.com.
Benjamin Yuen Gets in Heated “Nachos Dispute” at Movie Theater
I’ve also noticed his aging looks the past year or two. He has a big wrinkle between his brows and his foundation is too heavy. I use to find him attractive but he is not aging well. I read his post and all was well until he blew up at the end. Artists are people too and nobody likes to be criticized but he should work on his EQ especially given he is a public figure and rely on his looks and image for a living. Just let people say whatever they need to say. But also be open to constructive criticism. If so many people are saying it, there must be an ounce of truth to it. He should use that to better himself but try hard not to let that stuff get to him.
@gnomageddon the criticism was hardly constructive, but nasty and rude not unlike schoolyard-type bullying. what’s worse is blaming the victim for defending himself.
@msxie0714
I agree and everyone ages and to criticize them so harshly is just wrong. But yet everyone is mad at him for defending himself. Who would keep their cool when being criticized like this?
@msxie0714 I totally get what you mean because I read comments a lot when I go onto websites or youtube and the stuff that people write are very nasty (and very perverted when it comes to female artists). I don’t get that either. But unfortunately, we can’t control what people say and as a public figure, I get that he is human too and these things get under his skin. But to lose his cool like that will actually do more damage to his career and public image. I’m not blaming him for being upset. Rather, I feel like with age and experience, he should learn how to handle negative criticisms better. And if there is some truth to it, use it to reflect and better himself. These are irrelevant people making irrelevant comments. Just do you, and be your best. Let people say whatever they want to say. But don’t let it get to you. By letting it get to him, it has affected him personally and that is unnecessary. That’s why I am saying he should work on his EQ. It’s not worth it to ruin your own career path and public image by sinking low and talking back at that level. What’s the point of talking back? Will it get them to stop? No. His best defense is just ignoring these negative comments, not letting it get to him, and doing/looking better than ever.
@gnomageddon
Yeah, he should just suck it up and ignore mean-spirited critics. He’s not half as bloated as Leonardo de Caprio who’s lucky he doesn’t get bullied by low eq critics
Unfortunately there is truth to the criticism, he really is not aging well, he still looks bloated onscreen even though he doesn’t eat. There’s really no point to his post defending himself, it just makes him seem butthurt like he also sees himself that way
@hbc1
Yeah bloated or weight gain tends to make people look older. Also he isn’t particularly aging well and the wrinkles are showing. He is lucky to bag such a good catch as a wife, dunno how he managed it lol but he and Kevin lucked out (and Benjamin isn’t even as famous)
i basically agree with everything his critics say lol. to top off his flaws, i think low EQ is his most deadly one.
@coralie he definitely has low EQ. He’s been in the public eye for so long, and yet can still get triggered this easily.
l o l so I wasn’t the only one who thought he looked so old during the award show hahahah. It’s very noticeable.
Wow his response makes him even more unattractive. Like everyone said, you’re in the public eye, in asian pop culture all they care about is looks, and he was mr Hong Kong so….. it kind of comes with it. Just ignore it if you say you don’t care.
I’ve been watching some of his older shows and he’s truly a TERRIBLE actor. Like how did he manage to get some many lead roles???
Can I also add that his song he recently came out with was dreadful? So terrible
@tt23 omg, yes, he’s a terrible singer, yet TVB gave him a JSG award lol
@tt23 Lack of talent and competition in TVB. Plus he used to be attractive. He is lucky too, in the right place at the right time.
Rofl. He’s so petty, maybe moreso than Ruco. he knows everything the netizens said is true and now he’s super sensitive. Line Walker 2 was his peak, can’t see him achieving more in the industry now that he’s married and looks like an uncle.
Aging is normal, but his response sounds like the negativity hit a nerve. That’s the problem when success was based on physical appearance.
I don’t think people should be such bullies about appearance but I also think this comes with the territory of an actor. I do feel a bit bad for him, but really, the guy is very lucky. I liked him in LW2, Threesome, Speed of Life, and his scenes with Priscilla in LW3. He’s very limited in his acting, best as a carefree flirt and some comedy. He gets lead roles and has a beautiful, rich, young wife. Guy should stop arguing on social media.
This guy has a chance to make it big with his role in the Defected next to Kara Hui and Philip Keung but unfortunately he couldn’t make it cannot deliver. I think the thing for him now is to really work on his acting as age is catching up with him, else he cannot have career longevity.
The problem is that as people age, heavy dieting will make the person look aged. The damage has been done for Ben in losing weight for the Defected’. Raymond has the same problem when he tries to be too thin too..
Everyone of you are so superficial. When they go plastic surgery to look good, you guys criticise like nobody business. When people let age naturally you go complain. Get a life!
@skyblue while you’re right, it’s also true that the money they earn is a lot more than most of us could ever earn and there’s a price to pay for it.
They are expected to look their best, act their best and lose their privacy as they become popular. It’s also unfortunate that they’ll constantly receive public scrutiny and criticism.
Is it fair? Probably not but that’s how it is now.
It’s also an irony that when they’re not known, they want public to recognise them, stop them for autographs and for media to write about them
@conan2209
Well said!
@skyblue
I personally have nothing against plastic surgery, I prefer eye candy on screen if I’m gonna spend so many hours watching a drama. If I wanted to see average or old looking people, there are tons on the street everyday
@skyblue It’s an article about his looks and the comments he and others have made pertaining to his looks. How are we suppose to make relevant comments to this article without commenting on the subject at hand? Talk about his acting? Praise or critique his response? Looks in itself is a superficial topic. Not all who comment negatively about him or anyone else also hate on plastic surgery or vice versa. People are entitled to their opinions and this is just an entertainment news/gossiping website. It’s suppose to be lighthearted and fun. So just chill.
Blame it on covid, keeping people at home without anything better to do but troll folks especially stars online.
@exodus
You can’t blame it all on Covid as trolls have been doing that way before Covid existed.
@hetieshou That’s true…
Imagine getting so mad, maybe because it hits the nail.
He should embrace it like Leonardo D’Caprio and Johnny Depp did. Losing your looks doesnt mean the end of the world. But it looks like he also has a massive complex about his rich wife and acting skills to top it off.
@megamiaow exactly! Maybe embracing it will have better outcome rather than trying to dress and look young. There are many men who look better as they age because they don’t hide it or they just had better stylists lol
I know Shawn Yue and Edison Chen seems a little age also and they’re about the same age. His wife is 10 years younger that’s nothing compared to Kevin Cheng, Aaron Kwok, Ruco Chan, Donnie Yen and Moses Chan wife.