Hong Kong based actress and model Angelababy, was seen in a viral video on 15 September smoking at a private event, drawing the ire of netizens in China.
They were purportedly angry with the 33-year-old for smoking because it contrasted with her “sweet girl” image in the media.
Angelababy, whose real name is Angela Yeung Wing, was seen in the video chatting with her friends during a murder-mystery game room in Hangzhou.
She was then seen holding a cigarette in her right hand and plugging away at the private event.
The video was posted by Chinese fashion blogger Hu Bingo on Weibo, who said Angelababy looked cool even when she’s smoking, and his video garnered more than 120 million views in one day.
Revelations soon surfaced that the video was secretly filmed by a former staff of the venue, with the establishment later issuing a statement that the video was taken by their former worker.
They also apologised and said that incidents like this have never happened before, and that they will manage their staff better.
Despite a large section of netizens in China slamming her for smoking, a growing number of netizens jumped to her defence and asked “what’s wrong with smoking? She’s human too.”