Poke in the face settles lawsuit
Chinese actress undergoes facial examination to prove she’s never had plastic surgery
It was arguably the biggest audition of Angelababy’s life.
Outside, a swarm of autographseekers and paparazzi crowded the Beijing street, straining to catch a glimpse of the Chinese actress and supermodel.
Inside, the atmosphere was even tenser. Lots of money, maybe even Angelababy’s career, was on the line. With the cameras rolling, Angelababy took her seat and waited for directions.
That’s when the doctor began to poke her in the face.
The surreal scene wasn’t part of a Chinese soap opera or film. And Angelababy wasn’t performing for a director, but rather for a plastic surgeon.
The 26-year-old actress, whose real name is Yeung Wing, arrived Thursday at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences with something to prove: that she had never had plastic surgery.
What ensued was a brutally public physical examination. Angelababy underwent a battery of tests, including X-rays and even a plastic surgeon poking around the inside of her mouth.
All the while, pictures of the exam were posted on state television and Weibo, China’s wildly-popular Twitter-like microblogging site.
“Angelababy’s cosmetic results announced,” ran headlines across the country.
The story behind Angelababy’s strange exam dates back to 2012, when Beijing beauty clinic Ruili claimed that she had had plastic surgery. “Angelababy’s plastic surgery fails, netizens say her chin is extremely unnatural,” ran the headline of an article posted on the clinic’s website, according to Shanghaiist.
The actress denied the report and sued the clinic for 500,000 yuan, or roughly $101,000 Canadian, in compensation, according to the BBC.
For three years the case has gone back and forth in court. This May, a judge ruled in her favour but the clinic appealed.
Finally, a Beijing judge suggested that the dispute be settled once and for all by Angelababy having her face examined by medical professionals “to certify its authenticity,” the BBC reported.
According to Chinese media, a renowned plastic surgeon named Qi Zuoliang performed the exam in front of her lawyer, two notaries public and a host of reporters.
“During his examination, Qi noted that there (were) no cut marks on her eyelids, around her eyes or around her mouth,” Shanghaiist reported.
“Angelababy did not wear makeup and was proactive during the examination,” according to another fashion blog, AsiaOne.
“She asked the surgeon to check her forehead, nose, chin, cheekbones and apple cheeks, and said to reporters who were present: ‘Quick, help me think where else!’ ”
Qi’s verdict: Angelababy was naturally angelic.
“Baby’s entire head and facial bones do not have any signs of incisions,” he told reporters, according to the BBC.
The doctor’s determination bolsters Angelababy’s argument that Ruili’s article was defamatory. It also goes some way to dispelling a persistent rumour that has long dogged the actress, with closely scrutinized photos allegedly showing a differentlooking Angelababy circulating on social media for years, according the BBC.
For her part, the model-turned-actress has always said that her looks are due to a German grandfather, makeup and dental work as a teen.
Yet while Angelababy’s case could dissuade critics from making unproven public assertions about celebrities’ appearances, it has also underlined China’s obsession with plastic surgery in the pursuit of physical perfection.