Xie Na's Beijing Concert Cancelled After Online Backlash
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- Xie Na, a 20-year mainstay on China's Happy Camp variety show, saw her Beijing concert — the first leg of a nationwide tour with tickets priced 380 to 1,180 yuan ($56-$174) — cancelled over the weekend after weeks of online mockery of her singing ability.
- Zhejiang province's party committee published an article accusing Xie of "chasing profits" rather than pursuing her dream, and state newspaper People's Daily ran commentary about an unnamed "popular celebrity whose main job is to host who lacks well-known musical works."
- Xie had sold out two Chengdu concerts in May, where she was joined by celebrity friends, before announcing a nationwide tour — only for public opinion to sour with accusations she was "cashing in on her online popularity."
- Dr. Jian Xu of Australia's Deakin University says the backlash "serves as an emotional outlet for broader frustrations over income and wealth inequality in contemporary China," particularly among youth facing high unemployment and a flagging economy.
- Zichen Wang of the Pekingnology newsletter notes that criticizing celebrities is "one of the 'safest' forms of criticism in China," letting people vent about "competence, privilege, money and social fairness without directly touching more sensitive subjects."
- The pattern extends beyond Xie: singer Han Hong apologized last month after being accused of emotionally manipulating audiences for a spy thriller, and an actress had her name scrubbed from drama credits over allegations she leveraged her mother's connections to enroll in drama school.
- Not all Chinese internet users backed the cancellation — one Weibo commenter wrote "If her singing is bad and she holds a concert, she should face market consequences, not personal humiliation," echoing Wang's warning that "dislike should not become cancellation power."
Why it matters: The Xie Na cancellation shows how celebrity pile-ons in China now routinely draw state media involvement — Zhejiang's party committee and People's Daily both weighed in. For performers, the line between artistic ambition and perceived profiteering has become a trigger for administrative consequences, with Wang warning that 'taste should not easily become administrative power.'
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