Recently, Liu Yifei caused an international controversy after attending a jewelry event in Shanghai and sharing a photo on Instagram where Vietnamese actress Hu Yuhe was cropped out. Faced with backlash, Liu Yifei eventually deleted the post to calm the storm.
The incident began when Liu Yifei posted a photo from the BVLGARI event she attended in Shanghai on September 8 on Instagram, cropping out Vietnamese actress Hu Yuhe from a group picture, leaving only a dual photo of herself with BVLGARI CEO Laura Burdese. This sparked discontent among Vietnamese netizens, who flooded the comments section criticizing Liu Yifei for “lacking manners and respect.”
Hu Yuhe had previously publicly praised Liu Yifei on social media, calling her “extremely beautiful in person and super cute,” and posted the complete group photo that included all three of them. In response to the numerous Vietnamese fans expressing their dissatisfaction and questioning remarks like “other countries look down on Vietnamese artists,” Hu Yuhe gracefully replied in the comments section, “Then let’s work even harder!” Her high emotional intelligence response garnered praise from many netizens.
BVLGARI’s public relations manager in Vietnam, who was present at the event, posted a lengthy response clarifying that upon confirming with the Chinese team, the cropped photo was just a “misunderstanding” and had no negative connotations. She explained that in similar high-end fashion events, it is considered impolite to publish group photos without permission, and releasing photos of other guests usually requires their consent. Therefore, cropping out unfamiliar guests is a common practice.
Although Liu Yifei did not respond publicly, in the face of the influx of Vietnamese netizens questioning her professionalism and respect towards fellow guests on Instagram, she deleted the cropped photo and currently only retains other banquet highlights, including the full group photo.
Now 39 years old, Liu Yifei has not started filming for over 900 days since wrapping up the drama series “The Rose’s Story.” According to industry insiders such as renowned talent agent Yang Tianzhen, the number of film and television productions starting up in mainland China has plummeted, with only about 30% of the usual volume. The vacancy rate in Hengdian Studios has soared as a result.
Despite not working on any projects for almost three years, Liu Yifei’s commercial value and lifestyle have not been affected. She holds global endorsements for luxury brands like BVLGARI and Louis Vuitton, allowing her to maintain a high income through commercial endorsements alone. During this hiatus from acting, she is often spotted traveling abroad, walking her dog, and enjoying a leisurely vacation lifestyle, epitomizing the concept of “dual freedom of spirit and wealth” in the entertainment industry.