Public fury as bodyguard of China celebrity demands lift be vacated for her exclusive use

Public fury erupted after video emerged of the celebrity's bodyguard demanding passengers vacate the lift. Photo: Weibo

• Infuriated social media sleuths eventually identify China star whose minder was filmed yelling at people in airport lift

The rude behaviour of a minder employed by a celebrity in China has infuriated people on the mainland and made them ask: "Who does she think she is?"

Video footage that went viral on mainland social media shows the star being escorted by a group of bodyguards as she tries to get into a lift full of passengers at Qingdao Airport, in eastern China's Shandong province, on June 10.

When the lift stops at the first floor, where the famous female is waiting, a bodyguard shouts at passengers who are going to the fourth floor to "get out".

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The person who posted the video on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, said the people in the lift refused, and asked celebrity: "Who do you think you are?"

The star lowered her head to hide her face after realising her bodyguard had overstepped the mark. She then moved to an empty lift.

While the post did not identify the celebrity but speculation became rife on social media. Among the names being bandied about were Wu Xuanyi or Cheng Xiao.

Both entertainers - actresses and singers - were in the same South Korean-Chinese group WJSN from 2015 to 2023, and belong to the Beijing-based entertainment agency ,Yuehua Entertainment.

They were in the coastal city on the same day to perform in a show.

Later video footage emerged revealing the celebrity to be Wu Xuanyi.

Wu, 29, debuted as a member of WJSN and became famous in China after appearing in the popular reality girl group show Produce 101. She has 25 million followers on Weibo.

She had not responded to questions about the incident at the time of writing.

Yuehua Entertainment published a statement on June 12 defending its two stars and claiming the person at the centre of the controversy was "neither a staff member of the stars' or that of the company".

It also said accusations that the stars were "posers" were false and unfounded.

Followers of the story on social media had plenty to say about the incident.

"She could have stopped the bodyguard and apologised, but she did not, so she was not innocent," one person said on Weibo.

Celebrity posers are frowned upon in China.

In 2022, Chinese actress Qin Lan was criticised for letting an employee kneel down to hold a microphone for her at a jewellery promotion event some years before.

Qin said she had not noticed the employee because she was busy focusing on how to present the jewellery.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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