Male Stars Apologise For Their Questionable Reactions To Female Star Licking Caviar On Variety Show

A clip from a 2020 Chinese reality variety show Bao Zang Ban De Xiang Cun has become a topic of discussion online recently, with netizens roundly criticising the host, 41-year-old Haman Hu, as well as the male guests for their distasteful behaviour.

The clip in question focuses on female guest Snow Kong, 26, who was 24 at the time of filming.

As part of the show, the celeb guests, which included Haman, as well as Chinese actor-singer Fei Qiming, 26, Malaysian singer You Zhangjing, 28, Taiwanese singer-actor Richie Jen, 56, and Chinese singer-actor Dylan Xiong, 30, sat down to taste-test some food.

Caviar was included as part of the spread, and as Snow had never tried caviar before, Haman encouraged her to try out the delicacy. However, this is where things get dicey.

The food expert explained to Snow that caviar could be eaten on its own, and asked her to “lick up” the individual eggs before trying out a bite of the caviar, which was presented to her atop a boiled egg and small piece of toast, to better appreciate the taste.

However, Snow appeared hesitant to do so. The camera then cuts to shots of the other male guests seemingly eyeing Snow intently.

Snow eventually decides to take a big bite of the entire snack, with the camera cutting to shots of the guests laughing.

Haman then comments: “Why are you biting it, do you think you’re eating melon seeds?”, before the clip ends.

Netizens have taken to Weibo to express their anger at Haman’s behaviour.

One netizen wrote: “As a host with so many years of experience, it’s not possible that he doesn’t know about this unwritten rule among female celebs, where they will not ‘lick’ things in front of cameras as that particular action can appear indecent.”

Others criticised the male guests as well, noting that they appeared to be having fun at Snow’s expense, and accused them of being in on the “dirty joke” too.

They noted that of all the guests present, only Richie averted his eyes when Snow started to take a bite of the caviar.

One netizen also explained Snow’s action, writing: “I understand why Snow behaved that way. If she licked it, it would look inelegant. But if she took a small bite, her red lipstick would be ruined, which is why she chose to take such a big bite.”

Yet another netizen questioned why the food expert had asked Snow to lick the caviar in the first place.

“Shouldn't they be using a small mother of pearl spoon for the caviar? I feel like the show was doing this on purpose, constantly asking Snow to lick this and that. Let’s not talk about being on-camera, even during a normal gathering, regardless of gender, if everyone was staring at someone licking something, isn’t that distasteful?” the netizen wrote.

After the issue blew up online, Qiming and Dylan both took to their Weibo to share their side of the story.

Dylan explained in his post that he was not laughing at Snow, and that he was merely reacting to a joke someone else had made. He added that he has never tried caviar before as well, and that he couldn’t eat it as he was allergic to caviar.

Qiming made a short post, where he explained that he was not laughing at Snow, and that he had apologised privately to her when the show first aired, after realising that his actions might have caused her discomfort. He then ended his post by apologising to Snow publicly once again.

The host, Haman, also made a post, apologising for causing discomfort and troubling Snow and the other guests with his actions. He also praised Snow for her professionalism, adding that she has always worked hard whenever they appeared on shows together.

Finally, Snow addressed the issue on her Weibo as well, writing that filming for the programme concluded easily and with no trouble, and that she was thankful for the production team for allowing her to experience life in the countryside.

Photos: Snow Kong/Weibo, 娱情舆理/Weibo