This has been a super popcorn filled story and actually started two months earlier. During lunar new year the C-movie Article 20 directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Lei Jia Yin, Ma Li, and Zhao Li Ying was released to great reviews and high box office. All good right? Not really, as the success of the movie was marred by Zhao Li Ying reportedly buying hot searches, her fandom’s actions, and her taking center spot many times during promotion as if she was the female lead rather than a supporting lead in this movie as she continues to build her movie career. Her fandom claimed the movie only did as big a box office due to her draw.

This week female lead Ma Li won a Best Actress Award for this movie at the Big Data Movie Night event and during her acceptance speech she thanked everyone in the movie but Zhao Li Ying, said she doesn’t like promotions and is just an actress with ability and substance who doesn’t know how to promote, but to be recognized and win an award for box office success is a true validation. Netizens took her speech as a direct shade to Zhao Li Ying, who then updated her Weibo page listing of her famous prior works by removing the movies she’s starred in and updating it only to her most popular C-dramas and by doing so appeared to be her clapping back that she reigns in C-drama land and doesn’t need movies to be popular and recognized. I’m so loving all this open cattiness haha.