Elva Hsiao Hits Back At Judge Who Said Singing Competition Contestant Is At A Disadvantage For Being Too Pretty

Taiwanese pop diva Elva Hsiao, 45, is no stranger to standing up to her haters. If recent events are any indication, she doesn’t idly sit by when unfounded comments are thrown at others either.

Elva, who is on the recommendation panel of Chinese female-only singing competition show Let Me Sing (让我来唱), got up in arms over one of the show’s judges' comments about a contestant.

“Xinel is at a bit of a disadvantage because she’s too pretty and too striking. To a female singer, that’s a minus point,” said the judge, Qu Lao Shi, about 23-year-old American-Chinese actress Xinel Simpson’s performance.

While the young singer only smiled in response, Elva interjected: “There’s nothing wrong with being pretty.”

Prefacing that she admires Qu, and has nothing personal against him, Elva explained that she had some opinions on what he said.

Qu doubled down, adding that “It’s impossible to find famous female stars that are so strikingly gorgeous”.

Elva, who only got more confused after Qu’s statement, said she did not understand what he was talking about.

Chinese actress-singer, Hao Lei, who was also on the panel quipped: “Our strikingly gorgeous and famous diva is sitting right here.”

“Being pretty is not a crime. Being handsome is not a crime either, right?” Elva said.

Qu then hit back: “I’m not saying it’s a crime, I’m just expressing my opinion. Elva lao-shi is not the strikingly-pretty type.”

Shocked gasps could be heard from the audience.

Elva went on to name all her fellow panelists, emphasising that they are all good-looking and “it’s not a crime”.

She then directed this comment at Qu: “You’re handsome too and it’s not a crime."

Qu still didn't back down.“In my opinion, Xinel is very sexy, but that can also be a disadvantage for her,” he replied.

All Elva could say to that was “what?” followed by “why?”.

In an attempt to de-escalate the tension between both parties, panelist Hu Yanbin asked if another judge would like to share their comments on Xinel’s performance instead.

The clip of Elva and Qu’s argument drew many comments, with many netizens taking Elva’s side in the matter.

“Isn’t this a singing competition? Why is he judging her based on her looks?” questioned one.

Others also criticised Qu for his “absurd comments”, with some pointing out that he seems to be seriously lacking in the EQ department. Elva's fans also believed he was being very offensive by commenting on her looks.

“Don’t randomly bring something up just because you have nothing better to say,” asserted another commenter.