China's ban on sissy and effeminate male celebs has attracted its fair share of controversy, and has given rise to a new breed of vigilantes, many of whom are men, who have taken it upon themselves to “weed out all effeminate men”.

Chinese idol-actor Gan Wangxing, 21, was at the airport when he ran into one such vigilante. According to reports, Wangxing was making his way through the terminal when he was called a niang pao — a derogatory term that basically means sissy — by a random stranger.

Wangxing, who is best known for taking part in reality competition Chuang 2021, where he eventually placed 14th, ignored the insult only to have the vigilante continue calling him niang pao .

Videos of the incident have been posted onto Weibo, and many netizens have come to the defense of the young star.

They pointed out that Wangxing used to be a long-distance runner who has done so well in competitions he’s a national second-level athlete, which is not something to be scoffed at.

One netizen commented, “Are these vigilantes jealous of every guy who’s better looking than them? They must have been suffering from super low confidence to randomly attack someone like that.”

Another added, “Do these people think that being masculine is equivalent to being uncouth and uncivilised?”

Photos: PBE Media