POP CULTURE CORNER

星闻

94

He Ziming is what you'd term a “minor celebrity,” known for acting in a few moderately successful TV shows. Together with his fellow minor-celebrity wife He Jie, who became popular in the nationally televised Supergirl singing contest in 2005, the couple reached slightly higher levels of, well, minor fame. A fair chunk of He Ziming's fame has come crashing down after netizens became convinced that he was one half of a fairly damning phone call to the host of a late-night radio show about relationships. In the call, the man tells the host of the late-night relationship advice show that his marriage is on the rocks and his wife is asking for divorce, leaving him with nothing. He claims that his wife is domineering, makes more money than him, is more famous than him, and that if he gets a divorce he wants one of their two kids (not a specific one, just half of the total number of kids). The call included a few details, such as the length of the couple's relationship and level of fame, that led netizens to deduce the caller was He Ziming himself (for the record, TWOC has no idea whether this is or is not him). In the call, he also accuses his wife of having an affair and says that the couple's sex life is “not harmonious.” Anyway, shortly after the controversy, He's Weibo fan page became a cesspool of hatred toward him. “Loyal” fans indeed. - DAVID DAWSON