Wang Yibo is Criticized for Lack of Literacy
Making his debut in South Korea, actor Wang Yibo (王一博) is acknowledged as one of the most handsome C-drama stars, and later attained A-list status with 2019 hit production The Untamed <陈情令>. However, the popular idol was recently slammed for being “illiterate”, when he failed to answer questions from reporters during publicity roadshows for new espionage thriller, Hidden Blade <無名>!
Wang Yibo’s Lack of Response Irks Press
The noir film, which also stars Tony Leung (梁朝偉), tells the story of members of the Communist underground risking their lives to send out critical intelligence. During the press meet, journalists posed questions to the 25-year-old such as “Which book is your favorite?”, “What insights have you gained from the movie”, “What’s the toughest part to portray for your character” and “What would you like to say to the character you most wish to portray”. After a lengthy silence, Wang Yibo simply replied, “I don’t know how to answer you”, a response which left them less than satisfied. The film’s director, who was beside Wang Yibo quickly jumped to his defense, saying “There’re plenty of nuances in the movie that are hard to put into words, Yibo has already expressed them very well though his performance,”
State media China Central Television’s official Weibo page later posted an update which read “Can a hopeless illiterate deliver a good acting performance?” While it did not name any celebrity, photos of Wang Yibo being interviewed were also uploaded.
Diehard Fans Fight Back
Unable to accept their idol being criticized, fans raised doubt that only a part of the publicity video was shared, hence making Wang look bad. A group of the star’s loyal fans started a new Weibo account to level criticism at CCTV for defaming their idol. While CCTV has already removed the original post in response, it also silenced pages belonging to Wang’s diehard fans. The star himself has yet to comment on the incident as of now.
Watch Trailer for “Hidden Blade”:
Source: ChinaPress
Funny enough, only recently, we read about how Yibo’s star power and earnings make up over 50% of Yuehua Entertainment. And he is announced a shareholder of the company when Yuehua Entertainment officially launch its IPO on HongKong Stock exchange. All seem to be looking good for the company….
Then the infamous Hidden Blade Press Conference, the movie that only has him marketing because of the complete lack of respect the movie capitalists subject Tong Leung to. They edit the movie to give Yibo more screentime and cut Tony’s. I believe Tony Leung was not the only star that was subjected to such treatment. Since the capitalist wants to promote Yibo so much, then only he attended the press conference as top billing.
Yibo’s lack of preparation and interest in the press conference was evident. His manager answered many of the questions…and those Yibo had to answer, he could not be bothered to make any effect. He look so uninterested and unprofessional.
Yibo personally served delicious melons to the media, his antis fans and others to eat…He personally put himself into this position. Is he really over worked and pushed to limits by his company, I really doubt anyone can push him to do what he does not want to do. He does not struck to me as a walkover.
I am not bothered how educated he is, but one can do well in this industry thru hardwork and dedication even without being about to read and write well.
How would this affect the shares of Yuehua Entertainment? It will likely be temporary. I doubt we will see less of Wang Yibo anytime soon.
All are just my opinion, no offends to his fans.
@Hohliu Since he is a shareholder (or was going to be) prior to this movie, doubt he has no say in his projects.
The capitalists know no limits to maximize monetary gains. I saw a clip commenting how a poster of a movie removed the leading actress and replaced with the second lead who suddenly became highly popular from his other works. Some netizens believe it was the second lead who pushed out the leading actress while others believe it’s the capitalists who want to make use of the newfound popularity of the second lead.
Didn’t know that the article is removed and disappointed that it did. Why remove if they really mean it with no defamation intent. And I really don’t think it’s an unfair assessment.
Which article? I must have missed it.
@Hohliu it was mentioned here that cctv removed the original post so I assume it’s the same article they have posted.
Oh that article…I read it afew days ago. Was not aware it was removed.
He’s an actor, not an academic. A lot of actors aren’t educated especially those started young. But he should have made an effort if he can’t make an effort to answer standard answers his agency must hire him a good pr manager because being called an illiterate is not good.
LOL his management should have scanned those interview questions and have answers prepared for him prior to the interview. He’s an actor. He can ~pretend~ to be a voracious reader, right? Can’t blame the guy for his lack of knowledge, he’s been trained as a performer since he was a kid. But I have to say, I’ve seen him in shows where his behaviour is super immature.
I’d understand if the journalist gave him hard questions but come on, those were really easy questions. He acted in the movie, read the script, did his homework and put in his craft. Even if he just showed up for close up scenes and there were body doubles, he should still be able to answer those very basic questions. I saw a video on Tiktok about this and his fans came to defend him left and right. This is concerning and scary how fans will go above and beyond to make excuses for their idols. But when it’s not their fave/idol, they will drag that idol to hell and talk about him/her not putting efforts, being unprofessional, etc. or even talk about morals if such thing involves. (This part I’m talking about in general). If I remember correctly, the director also praised him/his acting that he is of Tony Leung’s level or like kinda like him, something like that. Hopefully, when the movie comes out, he does live up to those compliments.
True! Personally I think the same. However, there are actors that do not read the script but during the filming they are told the words via earplug. Than voice is added later and they are just told what to do and repeat words so that dubbing looks real. There main asset is not their talent or dedication to work but their vast fandoms that will digest whatever they produce. We live in time of mass production and rarely we remember some drama in 5years time.
Not a fan of his but the other day, AvenueX was saying it’s his personality type to not bother with you unless he knows you, hence why he didn’t bother answer any of the questions? Sound like he’s on a spectrum?!! Then ppl will go why be in this industry if you can’t deal with the extra stuffs that attached to the fame bit, well, if they only need to last say 5 years, made a buckload and get out, they do not need to worry about long term image lol. Would not surprise me if this guy will continue to work as long as the work pours in, once it dries out, he will just take his money and invest in property/companies and get rich and withdraw from the limelight lol. Tbqh, I’m having a hard time see how anyone can be attracted to his face, it’s pretty ugly >_> but if there’s stupid fans/ppl that still watch his shows/movies because he’s in it, he will continue making a lot of money while giving a 0 F attitude lol. The world of celebrity today lol!
I’m not a fan of his, but I watched some of his interviews and talk shows. He seems socially awkward, or just very straightforward. I think that’s fine and he honestly just didn’t feel like answering. I think some people should learn to respect that personal space. Yes he could have answered, but he does remind me someone who’s on the spectrum, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Wow. The comments here are harsh. I’m not a huge WYB fan but this whole situation is being so scrutinized. Perhaps he was overworked and tired. The interview was part of a series of roadshows, meaning he’s been taking parts in many interviews over and over, not just one. I would get burned out too. There are days where I zone out when people are talking to me. Yes, he should’ve come more prepared, but he’s a human, not a robot with a memory chip that can perfectly articulate answers that people expect every single time.
WYB has always been more of the quiet type. You can see him on red carpets where he’s usually more distant to the press compared to other celebrities who have amazing charisma and interview skills. He’s no Simu Liu when it comes to public speaking. He’s a genius at dancing and a natural stage performer. He’s not a literary genius and doesn’t need to be. Plus his acting is ok compared to A LOT of actors his age. You can’t expect him to excel in everything. The dude was born in 1997. Still very young. And he’s already holding up an entire company, earning tons of money. Probably a lot of people at the company depend on him for their jobs and livelihoods.
I can’t believe the comments here are saying he “appears on the spectrum” and “how can anyone be attracted to his face.” You may not find him attractive nor enjoy his screen presence, but he is definitely not “ugly.” “On the spectrum???” That is way out of hand. This is someone’s child. It is not ethical to discuss whether someone has mental challenges or not.