Dee Hsu Loses 4 Endorsements In China After She Called Taiwanese Olympians “Our National Athletes”

Chinese netizens have taken offence at a comment Taiwanese host Dee Hsu made on IG about Taiwan athletes.

The 43-year-old, who has shown a lot of interest in the Tokyo Olympics, had written about the exciting women's badminton quarter-final match between Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying and Thailand’s Intanon Ratchanok on July 30. In her post, she praised the Taiwanese athlete for her amazing win.

What got Chinese netizens riled up was Dee’s reply to a netizen. “My husband said, ‘Baby, my friend said you wanted to invite our national athletes to our house for a meal? Will that be considered an group gathering?” wrote Dee.

Chinese netizens have since lambasted Dee for “making use of the Olympics to show her support for Taiwan’s independence”.

They pointed out that athletes from Taiwan compete under the name “Chinese Taipei”, and that Dee “shouldn’t make futile attempts to present Taiwan as a sovereign nation”.

Dee has since hidden the comment.

She has now been branded a “traitor” by Chinese netizens and the criticism has gotten so intense, four brands that Dee endorses have cut ties with her and her family.

Lifestyle brand Pinkoi, beverage brand JD and Clear hair care have announced on their respective Weibo accounts that they have terminated their respective contracts with Dee.

Dee’s 15-year-old daughter Elly has also been fired as the face of fashion label Jorya.

Taiwanese media have estimated that Dee has lost NT$32mil (S$1.55mil) in income as a result of her cancelled endorsements.

When contacted by reporters for a comment, Dee’s manager said: “Could you let us have some peace, please?”

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Photos: PBE Media