On May 25th, a netizen discovered that Zhao Liying had deleted three posts on Weibo. Earlier, Zhao Liying had responded to rumors and controversies surrounding her romantic relationship with Taiwanese director Zhao Deyin by posting a series of three Weibo posts, using phrases like “you wish” and taking the opportunity to promote her new drama “In the World”.
The 37-year-old Zhao Liying ended her three-year marriage with actor Feng Shaofeng in 2021, attracting much attention to her love life afterwards. On May 14th, mainland blogger “Curious Girl Zhang Xiaohan” publicly revealed that Zhao Liying was dating 42-year-old Taiwanese director Zhao Deyin. The blogger disclosed that Zhao Deyin not only possessed access to Zhao Liying’s residential community access card but also took her and her ex-husband’s 5-year-old son “Xiangxiang” out to play, going to nearby parks to watch fireworks together, holding hands naturally as they strolled.
The blogger revealed that Zhao Liying met the drama director Zhao Deyin while filming the movie “Qiao Yan’s Secrets” and that they gradually developed feelings for each other. It was speculated that the two had been quietly dating for over a year, yet neither of them addressed the rumors about their relationship.
Following the news, Zhao Liying attended a brand event on May 23rd, where a tagline on Weibo appeared saying “Zhao Liying’s first public appearance after relationship news exposure”. Zhao Liying personally tagged this tagline in a post, writing, “Riding the trend given by the ‘trash wave’, ‘In the World’ is getting scheduled!”. This action left netizens puzzled, questioning if this was an official announcement of their relationship. Zhao Liying responded fiercely with “you wish” and added, “‘In the World’ will be scheduled tomorrow”.
Regarding Zhao Liying’s response, some netizens felt that whether from the perspective of promoting her new drama or addressing the relationship rumors, her reaction was inappropriate, with some even considering it as using vulgar language. However, supporters believed that Zhao Liying’s response continued her assertive “Little Knife Zhao” style, breaking the unspoken rule that celebrities must endure rumors silently. They felt that it was reasonable for stars to choose to fight back after being targeted with false information for a long time.
In conclusion, Zhao Liying’s ironic remarks towards the Weibo platform (nicknamed as the “trash wave”) for hyping celebrities’ private lives led to a heated exchange between the two sides, sparking widespread discussions across the internet.
It is worth noting that Zhao Liying’s three consecutive Weibo posts not only made her the hottest search topic again due to the controversy but also successfully promoted her new drama. “In the World” is a high-concept fantasy romance drama directed and written by Xu Bing, starring Zhao Liying, Yin Fang, Zhang Yishan, and Zhou Yiwai. The drama is scheduled to air starting on May 28th.