Hongkong actress Cecilia Yip may have cut down on her work in recent years, but audiences sure have not forgotten about her or her roles, especially when she played Xu Xian in the classic 1992 TV series, New Legend of Madame White Snake.

Unfortunately, some people can’t seem to accept that she is no longer the youthful twentysomething she once was — even though it’s been almost 30 years since that show aired — and have left some rather harsh comments regarding her looks in the latest photos of the star.

Recently, Cecilia and her husband, director Louis Tan, attended a charity event in Hongkong and their pictures were shared on the internet. Even though Cecilia was all dolled up and looked very elegant, some media outlets decided to focus on how “obviously old” (seriously, that’s how one article put it) she has become, with “clearly visible laugh lines and crow’s feet”. The 57-year-old was also described as looking very thin and “haggard”.

Sigh, here we go again. And again. And again.

And then there were the cruel comparisons between Cecilia and her ageless New Legend of Madame White Snake co-star Angie Chiu, who turns 66 on November 15, with comments like “Bai Niang Zi (Angie’s character) has not aged, but Xu Xian has become so old” and “Xu Xian is indeed a mere mortal”. One even sniped, “Her skin is sagging, she looks so old.”

Seriously, people!?

Fortunately, there were also a number of nicer folks who came to Cecilia’s defense, pointing out that there is nothing wrong with her wanting to age naturally without relying on various aesthetic treatments to maintain her youth. They added that she still looks “very pretty” and voiced their support for more celebs to grow old naturally.

Photos: jexxey/Instagram, 叶童银河系野生影迷后援会/Weibo, IMDb, Angie Chiu/Weibo