Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming faced backlash after publicly announcing his relationship with internet celebrity Ye Ke in September. Despite choking up and apologizing during a film event, promising to handle his personal affairs well, his latest movie “The Wig Wearer” performed poorly at the box office, being taken down just nine days after release.
Two years after his divorce from Yang Ying (Angelababy), Huang Xiaoming made a high-profile post on Weibo on September 19, stating, “Sorry for occupying public resources, don’t guess anymore, we are together,” and tagged his girlfriend Ye Ke’s account.
Following this, Ye Ke’s controversial past was exposed, triggering heated discussions online. She made controversial comments such as calling songs by Taiwanese singers Wu Bai, David Tao, and Jolin Tsai “vulgar” and “embarrassing,” claiming she never used the school restroom because she thought it was “uncouth,” and stating that northerners are “blunt” speakers. Moreover, details of her previous marriage issues were dug up by netizens. Under public pressure, Ye Ke publicly announced her withdrawal from live streaming.
Around the same time, while promoting his lead role in “The Wig Wearer,” Huang Xiaoming choked up and apologized during an event to avoid negatively impacting the movie’s box office. He tearfully apologized for nearly half a minute. Of particular note was when he was encouraged by the crew to stand up and clearly expressed his fear of the controversies surrounding his girlfriend causing a delay in his new film. He emphasized the need for everyone’s support at this time and promised to “definitely handle his personal matters well.”
According to mainland Chinese media reports, in order to portray his character with a balding appearance in “The Wig Wearer,” Huang Xiaoming boldly attempted a dramatic physical transformation by losing nearly 15 kilograms in a month, leaving some residual effects. Despite his efforts, the movie, with an investment of over one billion Chinese yuan, only grossed 4.1 million yuan in ticket sales within nine days of its release. Due to its extremely poor box office performance, the film quietly disappeared from theaters across the country.
On the 28th, netizens noticed that Huang Xiaoming had deleted the post announcing his relationship on September 19. Speculations arose that he may have hinted at breaking up with Ye Ke. The keyword “Huang Xiaoming deletes announcement post” trended on Weibo, sparking widespread discussions among netizens.