Chinese actor Li Chen apologises for saying girls are a 'burden' on variety show

Li Chen says that he respects everyone and did not mean to upset people with his comment. Photo: Li Chen/Weibo

Chinese actor Li Chen recently issued an apology on Weibo after making a controversial remark about women on the reality show, Keep Running, as reported by China Press.

In an episode shown on Friday (April 21), Li Chen played a game which required him to catch members of an opposing team alongside his teammates – singers Zhou Shen and Fan Chengcheng as well as actress Zhang Jingyi.

Halfway into the game, the 44-year-old received a call from Fan saying that he had already caught Chinese actress Bai Lu and singer Song Yuqi.

Upon hearing what his teammate had said, Li Chen said, “Beautiful! But you caught two girls. They will be a burden to us.”

The actor’s comment did not sit well with netizens on Weibo, and it became a trending topic on the platform.

Many chastised him for not being mindful and advised him to think before speaking.

“What (does he mean by) girls are a burden?” said a netizen.

“Men have always blamed women whenever something goes wrong,” snarked another, as quoted by Singaporean news outlet 8days.

“How did Fan Bingbing (Li Chen’s ex-girlfriend) even fall for him in the first place?” yet another netizen commented .

Meanwhile, there were also some netizens who defended the actor, saying that the comment was just a joke and that people should not take it literally.

Nevertheless, the Beijing Love Story star still issued an apology the night after the episode premiered.

His statement read: “I apologise for saying something I should not have so hastily to (my female friends) due to the setting of the show. I am respectful towards everyone, and I would like to sincerely apologise for upsetting everyone.”