In peacetime, anyone, and I mean anyone, would clamour for an opportunity, perhaps even sacrifice an arm or two, to take a picture with Jackie Chan.
And honestly speaking… really, who wouldn’t? Gracing our big and small screens alike since like 10,000 BC, Jackie Chan has entertained us for ages, and in the process become this legendary star in status.
A hero. Of entertainment.
But here’s where the line blurs out. For as a Wise Old Man once preached:
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
‘Wartime’
Lest you’re unaware, Hong Kong has been flooded by a series of protests, all of which serve to oppose an extradition treaty which could potentially send dissenters to mainland China for trials.
And should you be wondering, Jackie Chan somehow found himself at the centrepiece of it all…
When he appeared in a recent video that featured him, among others, singing the Chinese national anthem.
Criticism
Interpreted as pro-Beijing, he was subsequently criticised, and when asked about the outcry in Hong Kong, he responded as follows:
“I just found out only yesterday that there was a big parade,” Chan, who was in Taipei to promote his new album I am Jackie Chan (his first pop album in 16 years) said. “I don’t know anything about it.”
Which evidently added salt to wounds, considering how some Netizens felt that Chan could’ve done more, such as using his star power to at least request for calm from the protestors and authorities in addressing the issue.
Jay Chou Got Slammed By Netizens Just for Posting an Image with Jackie Chan
And here’s where another Mandopop star, Jay Chou, steps in.
The 40-year-old Mandarin singer, who captioned his photo with Chan that was posted on Wednesday (12 June), said: “Wishing Big Brother big sales for his new album.”
According to reports, the album has input from Chou.
But it seems that the additional publicity for Chan’s new album, while certainly magnanimous in scale, was certainly not all positive.
Advertisements
Some said that Chou was silly to have done it, and according to Taiwan News, others were infuriated and called Chou out for being insensitive, seeing how the atmosphere in Hong Kong was still tense.
It should be mentioned that there were also several Netizens who asked Chou to drop ties with Chan, namely because the latter’s fling with Elaine Ng back in 1999 is yet to be entirely forgiven by the Taiwanese, considering how he was married to Taiwanese sweetheart Lin Feng-jiao.
And Chou wasn’t the only one
On 12 June, Japanese drummer, Yoshiki, too, posted a picture with Jackie Chan, captioning it: “Wonderful dinner with #JackieChan.”
And like Chou, he soon found himself being lambasted for the sentiment.
Advertisements
“I am sorry, X and you are very important to me and I love you very much, but your photo with this guy made me cry.”
Thereafter, on 14 June, he posted an update.
“My dear fans, if any of my posts made you feel like… I’m not considering any situation, I deeply apologise. I really care about all my fans and friends,” he wrote.
And so… now what?
According to AsiaOne, there’s talk that Chan’s management would now have a difficult time pulling other celebrities in to help plug his album.
We wonder why, really.
Advertisements
Nevertheless, fears over the album’s sales prospects naturally arose, which is a pity really, considering how political wars aside Jackie does have a good voice.
But then I guess that’s just the age we live in now, right?
Read Also:
- 8 Ways to Ensure You Won’t Have Food Poisoning When Having Hotpot
- Fewer People Joined SkillsFuture Programme Last Year Even With More Support from Employers
- Summarising the Cordlife Saga & Simplifying What Cord Blood Is
- It’s Not Just You: S’pore Breaks Record-High Temperature for 2024 on 24 March
- S Iswaran Faces 8 More Charges But This Time, It’s Not Related to Ong Beng Seng
- More Companies in S’pore Engaging Permanent PT Staff Compared to FT Staff
Advertisements