Adulterous Actor's Apology to Wife Sets Record on China's Twitter
LatestAn apology tweeted by a Chinese actor to his wife after rumors of his infidelity surfaced set a record for comments and retweets on China’s version of Twitter.
According to the Associated Press, the story hit a nerve with people in China because of actor Wen Zhang’s popularity and image as a happily married man. The apology to his wife for his infidelity broke records on Sina Weibo.
Wen Zhang posted a statement early Monday that his wife, Ma Yili, “and the children could have had a warm and nice life, but everything was destroyed by me.” By Wednesday, his post had been forwarded more than 1.2 million times and received nearly 1.9 million comments. Many comments expressed anger toward Wen, who has more than 52 million followers. […] Sina Weibo said on its site Monday evening that the vast majority of people discussing Wen’s post were educated women and girls aged 24 and under.
[T]he volume of comments underlines the relative freedom users have to focus on entertainment news online where politics is often off-limits.
[…]
The topic trended above the missing Malaysian plane and a protest against a petrochemical plant in Maoming that turned violent. Censors had blocked searches relating to the Maoming protests.
“From the authorities’ point of view it isn’t good if the public cares too much about politics, but entertainment is safe,” said Zhan.
His tweet broke a previous record held by Faye Wong, a singer, who used Sina Weibo to announce she was getting a divorce.
The Twitter record for most retweets is currently held by Ellen DeGeneres and her selfie at the Oscars in March with Lawrence, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey and others, which has been shared more than 3.4 million times. Meanwhile, this guy and his awesome dogs are rapidly closing the gap.
Image via AP Images.