As her trending hashtag says, what is indeed happening with Vicky Zhao Wei? Friends and fans of the actress were left confused after her name was suddenly dropped from the cast list of her works, many of which have long been considered her classics such as Romance in the Rain 情深深雨濛濛 and Painted Skin 畫皮. Even My Fair Princess 还珠格格, the project that catapulted her to stardom playing the titular Princess Pearl, was not spared. Likewise, her dramas appear to have also been quietly removed from online streaming platforms like Tencent, iQiyi and Youku.
Meanwhile, celebrity friends like Yang Zi who once said Zhao Wei was her idol since childhood, have also pointed out posts related to the actress are now nowhere to be seen on the microblogging platform Weibo. Similarly, eagle-eyed Netizens have also noticed the disappearing act pulled by Zhao Wei related posts made by the actress’ good friend and fellow Beijing Film Academy alum Huang Xiaoming on Weibo, although people have been saying it’s just an issue with both actor’s viewing settings since Zhao Wei’s page on Weibo is still active. Nonetheless, whether it’s just a question of having the right viewing settings on Weibo or not, what we do know is that aside from her name and works disappearing from streaming platforms, Zhao Wei’s SuperTopic on Weibo has also been mysteriously shut down.
Could It Be the Result of the Government’s Crackdown on “Misbehaving” Actors?
Why the actress is suddenly being targeted remains unclear hence the hashtag “what’s happening with Vicky Zhao Wei”. Some have surmised that it could be her and her husband’s ties with Jack Ma who himself was subjected to a government crackdown recently. On the other hand, it could also be additional fallout from Zhang Zhehan’s scandal compounded with the government’s efforts to clean up the entertainment industry that caused this.
As you know, actor Zhang Zhehan has been declared persona non grata in the industry, losing all of his 26 endorsements and dropped from all of his projects after his scandal exploded earlier in the month. While photos of Zhang Zhehan visiting infamous war memorials in Japan drew attention, old wounds were revisited from his boss Vicky’s own unpatriotic gaffe years ago (Zhang Zhehan is signed under Vicky Zhao’s Studio) when she modeled a dress bearing the Japanese military rising sun flag. Like him, Vicky’s photo triggered a huge storm of backlash from patriotic fans who even called for a boycott of the actress. That photo may have been dated 2001, but Netizens are guessing that could also be the reason why her name has suddenly been dropped from her works and her Weibo SuperTopic also taken down.
Tank
So sad. CCP cracking down on everything to control everything.
laihon
I agree that the gov’t should do something with the super topic, the trending and toxic fandoms on weibo but to mute a person life works are just a bit too much. One person doing something that government deems “misbehaving” should not be bleed into other actors, actresses, directors, producers and many others, etc. Punish the wrong doer and left everyone else alone, they worked hard on those projects.
Anon
People are so fickle minded. When the fandom do something bad to their favorite idols, they complained and said that the government should do something about it. When the government sweep in to clean up the industry, they say government is communist and restricts freedom. Do people expect the government to be there to only act against those bits or those people they don’t like on their behest?
Toxic fandoms, celebrities’ behaviors, the industry’s shady practices are all intertwined and interlinked. (Heck, the HK entertainment industry was controlled by the triads in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s ) You pull up one end, and other unsavory things will be pulled up with it. Can the government ignore those things which are now brought to light?
If the government set a rule or guideline, don’t expect to be above it just because they are famous or rich or had bought somebody’s “closed eyes” before. Some people did not get their fame or wealth through only hard work and honesty. If any celebrities were wrongly accused, we can expect that they will have their lawyers fighting it; they have the money to engage the best lawyers.
JAJlives
Well, I suspect more artists , maybe even some big names, will go away soon before this year 2021 even end…what can I said but that all recent news and actions all point to something horrible that was cover in the manga “20th Century Boys”
Anon
I keep hearing from older c-ent fans that she had a lot of shady business practices. She and her husband was once banned from stock market trading for 5 years for market manipulations. Seems like things are finally catching up with her (them).