I think C-netizens have been waiting for this particular cancellation for a long time, 20 years to be exact. So it really was walking on eggshells if I were C-actress turned top producer and agency president Zhao Wei (Vicki Zhao). Today on August 26th C-netizens noticed that Zhao Wei’s videos have all been removed if it featured her and some of her dramas have also been removed while others remain but her name has been removed from the cast listing on the drama landing page. This is across all the Chinese streaming sites from Tencent to iQiyi and even smaller ones, and reportedly top stars like Huang Xiaoming (one of her BFFs) and Zhao Li Ying have deleted all postings including her from their SNS pages. I saw C-netizens have wanted to ban her going back to 2001 when she was pictured wearing a dress with the Japanese rising sun flag on it for L’Officiel China. There was an uproar and she apologized profusely. Since then she was also in a scandal in 2017 with her husband and was banned from trading in the Chinese securities market for false news for 5 years. Her initial fallout in the Zhang Zhe Han scandal from last week was due to him being signed under her as an artist and C-netizens believe she is also culpable for not vetting his character properly before signing him, but this cancelling will more likely be due to other issues that the Chinese government wants to punish now.
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It was only speculated that it was caused by Zhang Zhehan but from what I read, it was due to her connection with Jack Ma who has been offending C-govt officials since last year. It’s weird to place the blame on ZZH for her cancelation.
Please. Koala, can you try not to write staff from speculation (that’s even too reaching) and make it like a fact?
So many melon about her recent ban and most aren’t even related to ZZH. It’s due to some businesses of hers, the connections with Alibaba and such. But again, all not confirmed but we should get some news about it soon.
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I predicted more Chinese celebs would be cancelled through the rest of the year, but the speed at which things are happening is jarring. Zhao Wei is as A-list as they come, so no one is safe. More names are being bandied about right now and many of them are big names.
If I were a Chinese celebrity, I would scrub my social media, hope I funneled enough money into my overseas accounts, and take a trip abroad and stay abroad for the next year at least.
Echoing other commentators that this cancellation isn’t due to ZZH.
yeah Zhao Wei has been famous for literally decades now….I doubt this is about anything she actually did and not about other political matters.
You are giving very good advice. I’m surprised she stayed in China and hadn’t already moved abroad. Maybe she thought she was safe as she has managed to survive so many past scandals. It feels like someone has been trying to take her down for a long time.
Concur. great advice & astute observation from Ophelia. Jack Ma has gone missing/cancelled for sometime now after “offending” CCP. I suspect it’s more politically motivated than businessmen & C-celeb cancelling per se. Something more sinister is afoot. Watch the cultural/social purge carefully along with current geopolitical happenings coming out of China.
Apparently it’s more to do with politics and money. Talk is that the officials supporting Alibaba’s listing are all getting pulled down and she’s got close ties to Jack Ma and perhaps had a hand in all the under the table dealings. Nothing to do with ZZH. This will hit a lot harder because she’s a bonafide superstar with proper classic projects under her belt, unlike the other cancelled artists like Kris Wu, Zhang or even Zheng Shuang.
What ever it is if she’s clean or not. I hope the best for her my favorite Asian actress among all. It’s because of her i watch Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwan showbiz. Hehe never was a fan of Huang Xiao Ming from the star but he sure is fast acting. From all them claiming to always be on her side when it’s bad and good. Hopefully these CPC execution don’t dragged down her other friends like Ruby Lin and Alec Su in. Sad to see Zhao Wei have this day.
I never find HXM appealing or pleasing to appreciate him with Zhao Wei. Zhao Wei is not a perfect person but HXM come off very fake to me. Something about him I just don’t like but will just leave it that way.
I predict Zhao Wei will one day get banned from everything due to all the scandals she has since that Japanese Flag outfit incident. All the rumors about her from beating a pregnant woman to so many others were not some very lighthearted accusations. True or not she has been in the spotlight for most distasteful actress in the C-entertainment. Marrying her husband was not a great ideal as well. I only hope she will get through these mess and come clean. There should be no one to be blamed if it’s her who causes it upon her. She’ll still be my number one favorite actress even if proven guilty or clean. It’s her and Nicky Wu for me. If they are out of the entertainment I doubt I’ll be watching Chinese or Taiwan entertainment again. Zhao Wei has always been a person I truly admire since little. She is what make me the not proper innocent and nice Asian daughter. Watching all her roles and dramas has a big impact on me. Wishing Zhao Wei the best. I’ll still watch all her dramas even if she’s banned.
I am heart broken to hear she was banned this morning. Zhao Wei cause the same impact for me since I first watched her in Princeess Pearl, Romance In The Rain, to Treasure Venture. Her characters taught me so much in life. I was so inspired by her to be different from all my friends and cousins. No matter what I still love her and watch her works. C-entertainment won’t be the same anymore if she’s gone.
You should still watch Taiwan dramas though even if you give up Chinese ones. Taiwan has very little to do with China. Some Taiwanese actors have crossed over to film Chinese movies and dramas but Taiwan has its own movie/drama industry too. A more liberal and less censored one in fact!
Thank you for the well welcome. I still do watch Taiwan dramas more than the Chinese one because they are more appealing to my like. I was just a very huge fan of both Vicki Zhao and Nicky Wu since I first watched Treasure Venture. They became my bias and love both separately by supporting their works individually. They introduced me to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Chinese entertainment. Without them it’ll make the whole entertainment world feel different. It’s great to know Taiwan is different and is more welcoming. The country looks very beautiful. I would love to visit the country one day after finishing college. I still remember watching Mars and many other Taiwanese dramas. A wondering site is the Taipei 101.
Huang Xiaoming ditching her so fast is hilarious and just shows how people will step on friends if it means saving their own careers. Also, just realized the main trio from Huan Zhu Ge Ge have all ran into some sort of issues.
Lol it’s call the kind of friend who want to be with you when you’re famous and well known but run off when you’re no longer benefit them. Eww those are the fake and disgusting people one don’t want as a friend. HXM never like him or find him pleasing. I always cringe so bad when reading him and all his crush admire for Zhao Wei.
Zhao Wei is not getting cancelled by the public (like in the West), she’s being targeted by the friggin’ government. This is a completely different ballgame. HXM or any of her friends, associates, even family, would be absolutely stupid to not erase association with her. It’s not about being a fake friend, it’s about trying to protect your own life and not getting your own family dragged into the ongoing purge.
I feel like if I was living in China and if I was getting into serious trouble with the Chinese government, I would ask my family and friends to delete our public pictures together, not comment on our relationship, and support me in private.
If we were living under some other government, then yeah, you’re a jerk if you wipe me from your SNS.
yas, second this prettyautumn. Normal things for other countries does not check out in China. It’s a whole different issue if it happens in China.
Did they delete Shaolin soccer, painted skin too? Those were some really classic movies. I just don’t like them erasing someone’s whole existence and past works. Those works are part of a whole team of people, director, staffs, actors, production people. Just seeing their work get erased completely is really sad. Whatever someone is accused of, I think it should only be applied to future works and not wipe out everyone else’s past hard work.
I agree with you..the past film should be left as it is because they only involve one person not the entire cast..
I agree that deleting their previous already released work is very unfair to everyone who worked on the project.
I am shocked. This is a classic example of we think we know the famous actress but we don’t. Zhang Wei & Zheng Shuang are two of the most successful & smart young actresses C-ent has produced. Super stardom at 18 or 19 years old but took the wrong turn afterwards. ZW could have concentrated on producing good movies but she was greedy. Desperate for money and going into the shares market. So powerful that she even controlled the press. As an actress & producer she should have stuck to what she studied.
Screw the CCP crackdown and culture cancelation in China. Love Zhao Wei and will still support her regardless getting banned or not. This reminds me of the Fan BingBing disappearing case because of her tax evasion. Without Zhao Wei the Chinese Entertainment won’t be the same again. Agree to erase someone’s whole existence histories and work is the dumbest thing ever. That only also is allow in a country like China.
I wonder what is the real cost of her getting banned. I read some on Weibo that she was tide with political corruption, murdered cases, drug related, and money laundering. Zhao Wei has been my favorite for a decade now and still is. Hopefully the reason come out soon. Some people must hate her so much to always find her fault. I thought I was the only one who doesn’t felt heart fluttering about HXM long love confections to Zhao Wei. Guess I’m not alone. Not a fan of him and also find him fake.
Looking at Chinese government tightly controlling who’s in & who’s out in C-ent leads me to believe that something bigger is coming. Prior to and during the Cultural Revolution in Mao’s era, social/cultural/educational landscape got affected first. My aunt was exiled to China in 1950s from British controlled Malaya as a suspected communist. No trial, no inquiry/investigation, just rounded up and shipped off to China. My grandparents were devastated. She lived through the horrendous Cultural Revolution period & they miraculously survived. Any form of traditional cultural entertainment was slowly purged at first then pace was increased exponentially & transferred to other areas with books being burned for being too “Westernised” & intellectuals being flogged in public reminiscent of Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia. I can still remember the photos she sent back to Malaysia (after being vetted by CCP of course) which show no one was allowed to wear any other clothing except those approved by the government. This round of C-celeb cancelling sends a chill down my spine.
@looking back -thanks for sharing this insight into the past based on your family history, I’m sorry for all that your family went through. You may well be right that a large-scale crackdown is coming against the cultural scene, and like Ophelia said above, this is far more terrifying than a regular ‘cancelling’ because it’s the government targeting you! It was already ongoing against certain minorities but spreading to the majority is a matter of even more grave concern.
China is repeating it’s own history by going after capitalists. I wonder if the people behind this take down of celebrities are descendents of the Red guards.
Man, I have also been a long time ZW fan and was sad to hear this news. I don’t believe her to be a bad person and some of these rumors are terrible – like associating her with criminals without clear evidence. I know she made some bad business decisions due to her husband and have business relationship with Jack Ma, who also has went MIA. I think it’s link to these business dealings. I think she will be OK but I wish her and her family the best.
People make mistakes in life.
No one is perfect.
Everyone will learn from their bad decisions to better themselves.
I believe she is not a bad person but bad decision can happen can happen to just anyone. Seem to me there’s some people who really dislike her because she has a different mindset differ from the CCP. I have followed her for so long because she is my favorite actress and loves all her works. I wish her the best too.
It sadden me to hear what’s going on with her and getting ban with out an reasonable cause. She did make big mistakes on her stock business and tax evasion but it’s not enough to just cancel someone completely. I’m a huge fan of her since Princess Pearl days and still is. To me she is truly inspirable. She has shaped me in many ways where no other celebrities have ever done. I wish her family the best and those around her. Love Zhao Wei always.
I love Vicki Zhao Wei, can’t hate her.
Jaime Seidel of news.com.au reported ZW was spotted at Bordeaux Airport in France where she owns a vineyard. She fled China in a private jet. Smart move. Ophelia’s advice to flee the country has been heeded by ZW. Lol.