Joey Yung Slammed By Netizens For Posting IG Story They Felt Was Mocking Those Infected By COVID-19 At A Pro-Beijing Party

What goes on the internet stays on the internet forever. Hongkong singer Joey Yung recently learned that the hard way after she was accused by Chinese netizens for being anti-Beijing. It started last June when she posted something about a “sleepless night” a day after a pro-Hongkong independence demonstrator fell to his death.

A few months later, she uploaded a selfie of herself wearing a mask (this was during those pre-COVID-19 days) while on a plane, which led some to believe that she was rebelling against the anti-mask law which was passed after the Hongkong demonstrations began.

This time around, they found reason to get upset with her after she posted an Instagram Story that was taken at a gala dinner celebrating Hongkong’s return to China. Her update, which was posted on July 19, provoked an immediate reaction. Netizens felt that her caption of “Everybody one two three four”, coupled with a number of gifs of animated characters dancing, was problematic.

If you’re scratching your head, this might clear things up for you: four of the attendees of the gala contracted COVID-19 while at the party. They saw this as Joey celebrating this terrible piece of news and labeled her as a “traitor to China”.

After realising that the scandal her post had caused, the singer quickly deleted the IG Story and posted a clarification hours later. “It’s all a misunderstanding. Someone sent me a video clip and told me that there was a lady who sang my song at the gala,” she explained. “I felt that this lady was very passionate and cheerful, so I decided to post the video and added the caption to signify that I was counting the beats before the song started (…) I deleted my post in order not to cause more misunderstandings, and I hope that those infected can recover quickly.”

Not everyone has bought her story though, as netizens pointed out that this is not the first time she has uploaded controversial content. The criticism got so intense that Joey has had to turn off the commenting function on her Weibo. According to Chinese media, posts written about Joey being a “traitor” and “two-faced for wanting to earn money from working in China” have been viewed over a billion times since the scandal.

Photos: PBE Media