Zhang Zhehan’s Works Dropped from Chinese Streaming Platforms
Sparking outrage for his insensitive social media posts, punishment against actor Zhang Zhehan’s (张哲瀚) misbehavior is in full force as major Chinese video and music streaming platforms including LeTV, iQiyi, Youku, Tencent and QQ Music took down his works.
Paying a Heavy Price
While the actor issued a Weibo apology citing “ignorance” after the blowup, and reiterated that he “deeply loves his motherland”, brands from Longines to Lanvin reacted quickly by swiftly cutting ties with him. Following calls by Chinese Association of Performing Arts to boycott the actor, major Chinese streaming platforms have now taken down Zhang Zhehan’s film and drama productions. They include Word of Honor <山河令>, Word of Honor Music Video <山河令演唱会>, The Blooms of Ruyi Pavilion <如意芳霏>, Legend of Yunxi <芸汐传>, Ban Shu Legend <班淑传奇> and Cosmetology High <美人制造>.
Similarly, popular online platform Taobao has followed suit by removing products related to Zhang Zhehan. On China’s Twitter-like Weibo, his personal profile, his studio’s official account and fan pages have all been suspended, and his posts on Douban and Douyin deleted.
Brands Which Used Zhang Zhehan as Ambassador Recoil from Losses
Meanwhile, Chinese brand Yanjing Beer, which has Zhang Zhehan’s face printed on their beer cans, is expected to incur reported losses of over 100 million RMB since their products will no longer be able to go on shelves.
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
He never expected his arrogance got him to this point…Even after so many advice from his old fans to remove his post. He basically told him to mind their own business… now, he is in this position. I really wonder how much compensation he has to loss… He is cancelled by Public backlash.. Then the Government stepped in.
I like him and am a fan of his but I agree that it was partially his own fault that led to his downfall. Maybe this will be a big life lesson for him to not be so arrogant in the future. However, I still feel bad for him as cancelling and blacklisting him for life is a bit too harsh.
@HeTieShou He is caught up in this particular period, very unfortunate….
@Hohliu,
Yes, the timing is bad for him but maybe it is fate? Maybe he will be better off doing something else ranger than sing and act? It can be a blessing in disguise for him as maybe he can have a reason to immigrate elsewhere for a better life and have a more fulfilling career/job? Things happen for a reason… I hope he thinks positively.
Meant to say rather than…
He always strikes me as very arrogant anyways so his downfall wasn’t surprising. At least he was famous for like 8 months after “Word of Honor” came out. I remember reading some of his “fans” started dubbing him as the next Leslie Cheung (?!) I was like Are You F— Kidding Me lol
@Karina Next Leslie Cheung!!! OMG…What a insult. They really dont know Leslie Cheung at all…
Maybe he had that potential who knows? But sadly it is game over for him. Hopefully, he can find a different career.
And he was portraying himself to be such a well-read a book-lover who took every opportunity in between filming to read … so claiming ignorance for such a basic knowledge is rather ironic.
Perhaps the beer company can sell their beers to restaurants who use beer or cooking or something?
He definitely was not ignorant but just did not think it was a big deal and did not care. But sadly it has caught him.
In his apology post published on August 13, Zhang Zhehan said that is “ashamed for his once-ignorance,”. So yeah, it didn’t worked out.
This move is so unfair to the his co-stars. Those series involved many actors. They should not be taken down just because one actor did wrong.
Secondly, this cancel culture is getting overboard. I read some netizens in douban forum claimed that they have complained to the broadcasting board and they will complain again if ZZH is not banned. Yes, loving one’s country is good, but, shouldn’t go overboard. Brands can be boycotted just because they categorize the country wrongly. Stars can be branded as pro-independence just because of a wrong word and got cancelled. This is not healthy patriotism.
I agree but it is their country and their rules so what can anyone else say or do. I just hope ZZH and his family are ok and he can do something else now if he plans to stay in China. Or he can immigrate elsewhere and start a new life.
We should remember that cancel culture isn’t exclusively happening in Asia. Remember Megan Fox? She was an upcoming hot star when she got “cancelled” because she called Michael Bay “Hitler”. In Asia the line that should not be crossed is Japanese invasion related things while in the West is Nazi, Hitler and anti Semitic related also sexual preferences. There were some bakery that got boycotted because they refused to bake for gay wedding. So in short, when you are in Rome do as the Romans do.
We should remember that cancel culture isn’t exclusively happening in Asia. Remember Megan Fox? She was an upcoming hot star when she got “cancelled” because she called Michael Bay “Hitler”. In Asia the line that should not be crossed is Japanese invasion related things while in the West is Nazi, Hitler and anti Semitic related also sexual preferences. There were some bakery that got boycotted because they refused to bake for gay wedding. In short, when in Rome do as the Romans do.
I think each country have their own line that can’t be crossed. In the West no one can crosses the racism/anti Semitic line (remember Megan Fox got cancelled until now). Some can’t tolerated homophobic and certain bakeries got boycotted because they refused to bake for gay wedding. So when in Rome, do as Romans do.
I have said it before: this reaction is too extreme. If this “cancellation” is acceptable, there can only be 2 outcomes: 1) the Chinese government will continue to cancel celebrities for using “mainland” versus “China” in their sentences or 2) China will have to go through reformation because everyone is getting fed up with their unreasonable standards. Yes, ZZH is immature, neurotic, and overbearing at times like seen on reality shows, but he’s not a traitor. Perhaps he will be able to make a comeback in 2-3 years.
Are you referring to the comment made by Myolie? As much as I do not like her, I find it so unbelievable to have netizen criticising her for using the term China…..how insecure can the Chinese be
She wrote in english, what is the political way to refer to “china”. Should be written as mainland?
@conan2209 That’s is what I am referring to show the degree of absurdity
But even the Olympics wrote China as ‘China’, yet the netizens have no issues with that? Haha.. I guess it is ok for a mainlander to call China ‘China’ but not ok for a HK-er or TW-er to do so? Anyway I think her case has died down, glad that at least not everyone agreed with those who criticized her.
@conan2209,
Not just Myolie but Xiao S and Jolin Tsai got criticized for their Olympic related remarks. Jolin has thoughts of giving up the mainland market while Xiao S lost some endorsement deals. This whole thing is just crazy.
I highly doubt it as once you are blacklisted in China your career in showbiz is gone for good. He has to go elsewhere or do something else.
I must say, I do feel bad for him. Yes he did a few insensitive things but he got cancelled so quick.
cancel culture going to the extreme in US and China