On August 26, mainland Chinese singer Huanzi (real name: Su Shuqiang) released a statement on Weibo and shared a court receipt, officially suing the production team of the show “Thorns and Thistles 2026” (operated by Mango TV) for malicious editing, portraying him as a negative and unprofessional “bad artist”. He has since announced his withdrawal from the competition and demanded that Hunan TV and Mango TV provide the unedited original tapes to reveal the truth.
Huanzi posted a video on Weibo on the 26th, responding to accusations of being “bad”. He stated that he is currently resting and apologized for not meeting the expected performance results, but emphasized that he is not being negative or unprofessional.
He revealed that after receiving a notice to join the production on August 4, he canceled his sold-out solo concert in Guiyang on August 15. He personally compensated the audience for their airfare, hotel, and ticket refund costs, resulting in a direct economic loss of over a million yuan. He clarified, “If I really wanted to be ‘bad’, I wouldn’t need to pay such a high price to embarrass myself on stage.”
Huanzi directly criticized the unjust editing of the show. In the nearly 7-minute promotional video, his co-guest Chen Ruoxuan occupied 92% of the footage (6 minutes and 21 seconds), while Huanzi only had 49 seconds, all showing negative scenes like looking down at his phone. His hard work despite being ill and rehearsing until early hours, sweating on stage, was all deleted, leading to him being labeled negatively and unprofessionally by netizens.
What he found unacceptable was the canvassing segment. The production team asked him to hold a “cross sign” representing elimination, while his teammate with a “winning sign” circled around the audience. He believed this was a deliberate attempt by the production to influence the audience’s votes, which greatly hurt his self-esteem, causing him to break down on the spot, lose control of his emotions, and choose to give up canvassing. After the live broadcast ended that night, he was rushed to the hospital due to emotional distress and severe physical discomfort.
In the video, Huanzi stated, “I can forgo money, I can skip shows, but I cannot accept losing my innocence.” He requested the production team to release all unedited original video footage to prove that he rehearsed seriously, respected the stage, and did not seek any financial compensation.
It is worth noting that Huanzi announced his lawsuit against “Hunan TV,” but the court receipt revealed that the defendant is actually “Hunan Happy Sunshine Interactive Entertainment Media Co., Ltd.,” the operating body of Mango TV, indicating they are not the same legal entity.
Music critics like Liang Yuan and other industry professionals posted in support of Huanzi, stating that he has been “wronged to the core” and criticizing the production team for creating drama through editing. As of now, neither Hunan TV nor the official account of “Thorns and Thistles 2026” has responded to the lawsuit.