Ban still looms over Angelababy with variety show snub

Compiled by TEH ATHIRA YUSOF, C.ARUNO and R.ARAVINTAN

THE ban on Chinese actress Angelababy appears to still be in force after it was announced that she will not be reprising her role on a popular variety show in China, reported Sin Chew Daily.

The actress was blacklisted from the entertainment industry after attending a burlesque show in Paris.

Although she was a main cast member for 11 seasons on Keep Running, China’s adaptation of the Korean TV show Running Man, her name was notably absent from the cast list for Season 12.

This omission sparked speculation that Angelababy is still in the authorities’ bad books.

Many producers are also wary of potential backlash from collaborating with her.

It was reported that Angelababy, whose real name is Angela Yeung, attended Crazy Horse, a burlesque event in Paris in September 2023, which led to her sudden banishment from Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, and the blocking of her Douyin (Chinese TikTok) account, citing violations of laws and regulations.

This came in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on celebrity fan culture.

Capping the entertainment industry, along with after-school tutoring and online gaming, is part of a cumulative effort to ensure the younger generation is motivated, patriotic and become productive workers.

> A woman from Yunnan, China, was praised for quitting her office job to become a livestock breeder, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Song Song, 26, began her career journey as an administrative clerk after earning a degree in Chinese literature but soon quit after realising the job did not suit her.

She took up her friend’s offer to join the livestock breeding industry.

Despite considerable sacrifices demanded by her new profession, such as mandatory quarantine periods for hygiene purposes and long hours confined to the breeding facility, Song Song embraced the said challenges wholeheartedly.

While many Internet users praised Song Song for having the courage to pursue such a job, others slammed her for exchanging a comfortable office role for a menial job.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.