‘Shut up, idiot’: Zhang Ziyi slams netizen over false claims about her new movie

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi lashed out at a netizen recently for posting false statements about her.

The 45-year-old recently completed filming her new mystery-thriller movie Murder of the Husband (also known as She Has No Name), where she acted in the leading role as a woman who kills and dismembers her partner after suffering from his abuse for years.

This is Ziyi’s first acting project since announcing her divorce with musician Wang Feng last October.

At the wrap party yesterday (March 12), Ziyi teared up as she thanked director Peter Chan for giving her the opportunity and his persistence in filming the movie since they first discussed it a few years ago.

“Thank you for recognising me as the only choice for the role. Thank you for giving me a chance to be reborn. I believe this is a new starting point for me,” she expressed.

A Weibo post surfaced shortly after that, claiming Ziyi had requested for Peter to cast popular Chinese actresses Yang Mi and Zhao Liying in the movie.

The post reads: “For this movie, Ziyi requested for Peter to invite Yang Mi to act. Liying and Ziyi know each other well, so it’s quite normal for the former to also star in it.

“The reason for this is because Ziyi’s box office record is not as good as before, so she hopes to increase the popularity of this movie and use it to reach another high in her career again.”

The netizen also wrote that Ziyi needed to restart her career after her divorce and it was difficult based on her abilities.

“If there are Yang Mi and Liying, the popularity of this movie will not be bad… the biggest benefactor is actually Ziyi… she is really smart and sharp!” they wrote.

In response to these claims, Ziyi commented harshly under the post: “That’s not the case! Shut up, idiot!”

The netizen apologised to Ziyi in two separate posts last night, claiming that they were just gossiping and appreciated all of Ziyi’s movies, calling her an “international movie star”.

They wrote: “What I said earlier is biased, I apologise to Ziyi, I accept her scolding. Everyone, please support her movie.”

Netizens expressed their support for Ziyi’s response.

“I don’t feel that her movies are box office flops, it’s just that she hasn’t filmed for a long time after getting married and having kids. She is still a top actress,” one of them commented.