Controversial Singaporean blogger Wendy Cheng gets her own reality show

SINGAPORE – Love her or hate her, Singaporean blogger Wendy Cheng, or more commonly known as Xiaxue is famous online and off. Now, the blogger is coming to our screens with her new show, Wendy Vs The World with E! Asia, a channel owned by NBCUniversal International Networks.

The show will feature insights to Cheng’s life and follow her journey as she tries to attempt to balance her fame and career with being a wife and mother. From a fairytale themed birthday celebration – might we add, in a ‘castle’ to botox bonding sessions with the mum, these are the few moments you can expect when you tune into the show.

Cheng feels “excited” and “honoured” to have her own TV one-off special. “Seeing the picture (posters) being big now and people actually caring that the show is coming on. It has like finally - caught on to me that it might be something that is big,” she surmised.

“As the global pop culture powerhouse, E! is excited to feature such a buzzworthy Singaporean talent,” said Scott Mackenzie, VP, Channels, Asia, NBCUniversal International Networks, adding that her unique brand of wit and brutal honesty will entertain viewers across the region.

We got Cheng to tell us more about her new show:

Q: Do you think this show will make you the Kim Kardashian of Asia?

A: I certainly hope so. I try not to have too high hopes because (being) like Kim Kardashian is ultimate reality show gold for everyone. I think somewhere close in Asia would be fine.

Q: Your baby, Dash has been getting a lot of attention on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. How much screen time will Dash be getting here?

A: Actually, not that much screen time. Because it’s really difficult to shoot children his age. They are very impatient and they run here and there. He runs here and there all the time. If you didn’t shoot it properly the first time, second time round - he will not do the same thing again. So it’s a bit hard. And as a parent, I also don’t want to put him through too much. I limited his screen time.

Q: What will you say to both your fans and haters now that you have a new show?

A: If you like me, then it would be really nice if you watch the show. If you don’t like me, then you definitely also have to watch the show because otherwise - how are you going to comment about it, right? Make as much noise online as you can about that.

Q: You already have a show with Clicknetwork called Xiaxue’s Guide To Life. How is this show different from that?

A: More effort is put into TV. For Guide To Life, it’s been very fun and it now comes very naturally for me when I’m filming. But for TV, we took so many days to film for the show. For example, one episode took many days to film and includes an oversea trip and stuff like that. (Doing TV) is more intensive and more fast paced.

Q: How have your mum and your husband, Mike, been reacting to you having your own original production with E! Asia?

A: I think it hasn’t sunk into them yet. It was just like, oh just another thing that Wendy is filming. My mom is like an auntie, so she probably doesn’t know how popular Keeping Up With Kardashians is, and she has nothing to compare it to. She probably thinks it’s just like Guide To Life. I used to have a show with Mediacorp called Girls Out Loud but that was just local TV.

Q: Do you feel like a real celebrity now that you have an actual TV show?

A: In a way, definitely. I am very happy about that.

Q: Do you think that all bloggers can have your kind of success?

A: Uh... My kind of success? It’s like so difficult to answer that question. I think that there are definitely less and less like, bloggers nowadays. Most people choose to focus on social media and stuff like that. I am very, very lucky that I started very early. People who read me nowadays have probably started since a long time ago. At that point, there was very little competition but it's tough competition now.

Q: Do you worry about the negative effects of Dash being a child star?  For instance, the case of Lindsey Lohan and getting too accustomed to fame when he grows up?

A: Oh, Lindsey Lohan. (Laughs) Well, he could also be like Emma Watson who's turning out fine. I try to think about it that way. I don’t think it’s affecting him at all because he’s still very young. He doesn't realise what’s going on. I will think more about this (issue) when I’m older. And hopefully at that point, I’m still famous. Maybe nobody would care (about me) in the future.

Wendy Vs The World premieres on Tuesday, 20 September at 10pm on E! (Singtel TV Ch 328 and StarHub Ch 441).