Chinese variety show The Inn 2026 aired its finale yesterday. During an awarding segment, some of the guests teased Dylan Wang, but the supposedly humorous presentation unexpectedly sparked controversy. Early morning on May 23, Dylan posted online, “I really did feel uncomfortable at the time.” Shen Yue later issued a public apology, but the controversy has continued to blow up as people are now taking sides.
What Happened?
As the inn manager on the show, Dylan Wang praised his cast mates during the finale but when it came to him, he didn’t expect to be the target of their joke, which many fans felt were in bad taste. Wu Zelin, responsible for presenting the award read, “You finally got to be yourself again. You no longer have to carry the burden of being the inn manager. Your leadership is unmatched” as he presented Dylan with the, “Best You’re Just a Wang Hedi Award!” He also read, “We really do have a group chat without you” and made a pun on Dylan’s Chinese name “Wang He-di”, changing his name “Di” to mean “bottom” though the purpose was so it would rhyme with their next line “with you around, we always feel secure.”
The move was criticized as a form of “sugar-coated bullying.” Wu Zelin drew flak, especially over another scene from the show where he seemingly had a disagreement with Dylan. Shen Yue also faced backlash for being the one to come up with the “Just a Wang Hedi award.”
Both Sides Speak Up
At this time, Dylan Wang took to social media to say, “At first I thought maybe I was just being too sensitive. But after reading everyone’s analyses all day, I want to say that I genuinely did feel uncomfortable at the time [smiling emoji].” His comments fanned the flames and as one of the people at the center of the controversy, Shen Yue posted a public apology, addressing Dylan Wang directly and also explaining what happened. She said, “I’m sorry, Wang Hedi. I also want to apologize to everyone affected by this incident.”
She explained that the original intention behind the “You’re Just a Wang Hedi Award” was based on an inside joke. The idea was to encourage Dylan to put down the heavy responsibilities of being the manager and be himself again. She emphasized that in her eyes, Dylan Wang had always deserved an “all-around excellence award.” She admitted, “Because of this, I overlooked the feelings of the manager. Once again, I’m sorry. I never intended to belittle any of my partners.”
Regarding the uproar over them having aa “group chat” that excluded Dylan, Shen Yue said it was only a joke said on the show. She even released chat records to show that the she did eventually create a group chat without Dylan but it was after the show ended, and the reason was to support for his new movie by booking out theater screenings.
Dylan Wang and Shen Yue’s studios both released statements supporting their respective artists. Her studio wrote, “You are wonderful, just being Shen Yue is already enough;” while his studio wrote, “Sensitivity is not weakness… The memories of everyone working hard together were real, and so was the discomfort he felt.”
Netizens React
Shen Yue and Dylan Wang worked together on the 2018 Chinese remake of Meteor Garden. Their on-screen pairing was nicknamed “DiYue” by fans, and they’ve known each other for eight years, from the start of their careers until now. Their reunion on The Inn 2026 also attracted significant attention.
With recent developments, Shen Yue has received both hate and support. Many of his fans don’t believe her explanation, citing the few times the cast would joke about having a group chat excluding Dylan. Others feel she did nothing wrong. Meanwhile, Dylan Wang also ended up drawing a lot of criticism for his social media post with hashtags that he’s lost fans as a result. Many felt it was unnecessary for him to air his grievances online, as it would prompt his fans to cyberbully the actress. The actor, known for his mischievous personality, drew flak for having double standards as his past actions playing a joke on others resurface. The speculation that both stars have deleted each other from their messaging apps has shot up to number one on the Chinese hot search.
Allie
I thought they were super close after Meteor Garden but guess not. Guy can’t even take a joke
terryslvr
what i don’t get is how do people even know whether or not they’ve removed each other on wechat 😭 😭 😭like are you asking them personally??
Wendy
Why is it so hard for people to understand that a joke is only funny when everyone enjoys it? Does Shen Yue normally not understand how to make people feel happy and comfortable? If she has a past history of being socially inept like this (same with the other cast members who joined her in this situation) then she needs guidance and to be called out on reoccurring behavior. If her past behavior shows that she IS skilled at social situations then this pure bullying that the film crew jumped on to make the show ‘trend’. Either way it doesn’t look like she or the other crew members are kind people to hurt the person who has been taking care of them. They must really dislike Wang Hedi to do that publically and the show’s disgusting for running with it. Wonder if Wang Hedi will work with that crew or those cast members again if he has a choice. I’ve never liked situations that hurt one person to admuse others.
Dee
It’s hard to a celebrity
Merry
Fans only wanted to revive the CP and end up getting the real stars behind the scene , i feel he really overreacted or maybe there is more to the story than this ,if it was really just ab this i think he was childish and the joke is really funny .
HL
Dylan had a number of moments he has crossed boundaries too. There are more than we see or read. Who knows what will happen in future. It is hard to make good friends in these industry it is their journey.
Aki
If you’re referring to those clips on WHD that are being taken out of context, then let me tell you that he was in those variety shows where everyone was being competitive and playing rough. There were times that Didi took the brunt of it as well (heavily having water splashed on him, people dumping his head and pulling it out whenever he lost, having mud fallen on him, and even people manhandling him) but no one gave af and he also didn’t because it was all part of the show. And both he and SY played rough with each other, and both he and Yu Shuxin also played rough with each other. It was all mutual. And also some of the clips were when he was a teenager, which he won’t repeat as an adult.
Arduinna
He is very good a dishing it out but a mimosa when the joke is on him. There is a whole collection of bad jokes that he made on his colleagues. Fortunately for him, they were better sports than he is.
No, sensitivity isn’t a weakness, but when that sensitivity only applies to oneself, it’s called narcissism.
Aki
At the time when he was “dishing out vad jokes” they were spontaneous and mutual. This was already a planned thing and they undeniably ganged up on him. Just because he was not perfect in the past and has clips taken way out of context doesn’t mean that the production team and those 5 people who ganged up on him shouldn’t take responsibility.
Anne
lol their shippers must be crying. to know that the ppl they keep insisting are secretly married actually are shallow friends in real life. lolll
Banu
Knowing how toxic fans can be he should have kept that for himself and solved it privately.
And should not be surprised people’s backlash. If celebrities like him can’t handle it properly maybe it’s better to stop appearing in shows and focus more on acting.
Aki
Wang Hedi knows how to take a joke. There have been many times when people physically joked with him as well, and he took it because it was the point of the program and it was a competitive environment. There’s a reason why he keeps appearing in variety shows.
Also, THIS WAS IN PUBLIC! Ofc he’d respond in public! What do you expect when your own friends collectively humiliate you and it gets aired on national television? That piling of hate messages came up when Shen Yue swiftly posted her apology. This is a deflection from all five people and the production team for being irresponsible.
And it was his first time voicing his feelings. He is no stranger to being smeared and cyberbullied, but he stayed silent throughout. But as soon as he voices his feelings, he gets a new wave of cyberbullying from toxic fans and black marketing, victim-blaming him while deflecting the bullies from accountability. If he can’t take a joke then these other five can’t be adult enough to think of a better joke and acknowledge that he’s been a good boss to them.
And a great thing is that guest testimonies emphasise how kind and considerate he was with them. There were cases where he went out of his way for the guests, but these were never uploaded in the final result. He did scold Wu Zelin on the hotpot but then later doubted if he was being too harsh and later reasoned that WZL was too tired hence the lapse of judgment. Teacher He Jiong, in the same episode described him as a caring and considerate boss. He didn’t deserve that clique treatment from them.
Melisa Penman
Well said Aki. Dylan is always gracious and kind. He really does get targeted in many of the shows he is in but takes it without complaint. He is human and when he expressed how he felt, he did not mention anyone at all, just his feelings.
Aki
Thanks for your kindness 🙂 Dylan always gets targeted for no reason, and this time, it is a post taken way out of context that was followed by an apology from another party and then clips taken way out of context. This is the most bizarre smear campaign I saw against Wang Hedi. I’m glad people like you still exist amongst the victim-blaming cyberbullies protecting those who ganged up against him.
Melisa
Wang Hedi is allowed to have feelings. Let him be. He works so hard and tries to be nice every single time. People sometimes just get to a point of “enough”. The behind the scenes footage shows him stepping in when the others were not. He never called anyone out—just said it was uncomfortable. No one should be dissing Shen Yue either. Wang Hedi keep being the special guy you are. Love you.
Aki
This! WHD is a very hardworking and considerate guy, not like how those haters think he is by bringing clips and taking them out of context. He’s no stranger to cyberbullying but this time it was his friends who humiliated him. That was quite a nice post from someone considered a “manchild” for apparently not taking a joke when it was a response to what viewers felt about what happened. He didn’t name names but SY swiftly came up with an apology, followed by a barrage of hate comments to even giving his family restaurant 1-star reviews (when they didn’t even take part in it). All of this seems to be a coordinated attack on him.
Melisa Penman
Thank you Aki for standing up for one of the nicest, considerate guys on the planet. I stand with you in saying he is being targeted for no reason. I appreciate him so much, He has no idea how he has inspired me to be a better person both in health and happiness and work ethics. He makes a difference to others around the world. I will always stand up for him. Thank you Aki.
Aki
I appreciate your reply. Thank you for being rational and clear-headed in this. These haters love to pile on such smear campaigns and don’t even see the other side. If WHD gets accused of being a bully and everyone piles up on it, then why not SY, who is accused of forming cliques and singling one person out? Meng Ziyi was a target in a previous variety show she did with SY. No big deal, right? But when it comes to hilariously out-of-context clips painting him to be the bad guy when he was clearly a victim here, people have no shame in circulating them further and not looking into those clips that are more harmless than portrayed to be. In those clips, all of them were playing rough. And several times WHD was also getting manhandled and aggressively splashed with water by 5-6 people (Wander Together), and he laughed at it because it was the point! In Hello Saturday, his face was dunked into the pool many times as he lost the game, and also there were many times people manhandled him. We didn’t create a fuss, but now we do (sarcastically) in response to those out-of-context clips. And thankfully there are fans debunking all this nonsense and showing clips that show him to be the kind and considerate person he is, and also there are accounts from people who know him and people who worked with him who describe him as a genuinely good person, as well as innocent. But I know WHD is a strong person and he will get through this even stronger 🙂
Kat
A simple issue that could have been talk out if he was matured enough. Instead, he posted it online, knowing full well how his fans will react and attack the actress. Another manchild incapable of handling like an adult.
Dee
I still think this as deeper than what we saw … for him to express himself it most have been real … so him saying it was uncomfortable is acceptable… some jokes are weird and this may be one of them ….
Aki
Yes! People calling him a manchild don’t even know what an actual manchild is. If he were, then he’d take names and ridicule them. But he just said he was uncomfortable but thought that he was just being oversensitive. He didn’t even demand an apology, and by saying he’s reading analysis, he didn’t specify whose analysis he’s referring to, so it may mean the general audience saying this went too far?
That post was vague at best, and this is already a big deal considering that he keeps silent and doesn’t respond back when it comes to him getting cyberbullied every six months. And if you watch his variety shows, including Hello Saturday, then you know Wang Hedi IS capable of taking a joke, including getting roughoused himself: https://youtu.be/MfOomwsj13U?si=umUM1fz2cuSUcOOT
However, I saw a fan video compiling the endings of all the variety shows he’s been in vs. The Inn 2026.
Here’s the video if you’re curious: https://youtu.be/8qG4Xid0lL8?si=LvUSijwHWTKIlOkm
In the rest of the clips, the endings complimented and praised him. The ending of Wander Together was very touching, but in The Inn, you can see they’re being passive-aggressive with him on national television, and he did try to smile while also saying, “You even changed my name?!” and even their joint statement of “We can’t do without you?!” and also asking if they could add him on the gc since the show is over now. But they just laughed and brushed him off. There is also a compilation of them ignoring whatever he says, with one of them simply writing him off and the others laughing at him: https://youtube.com/shorts/xwzwXTPL5vU?si=dc5d2xKTO8MoBRrN
There was subtle disrespect he faced. They couldn’t even be bothered to give him the Best Boss Award! It isn’t only a joke if they gang up on him like that! And he’d say it publicly because THIS HAPPENED IN PUBLIC IN FRONT OF EVERYONE WATCHING IT! You don’t wanna be subject to that kind of humiliation!