Hong Ling Once Considered Having Surgery To Shave Her Jawline After People Said Her Face Is "Too Square", Is Now Glad She Didn’t Do It

The last episode of The Zoe and Liang Show saw hosts Zoe Tay and Guo Liang talking to Mediacorp stars Benjamin Tan and Hong Ling about the perks of being good looking, and the pressures they face as celebs when it comes to beauty standards.

“Does being good-looking make life easier for people?” Guo Liang first asked.

“I think definitely, yes. There will be benefits to being good-looking. If [someone] is better looking, they will have more people trying to pursue them. Naturally, one will end up having more confidence in themselves. It probably helps make them more self-confident,” said Hong Ling.

Benjamin then shared a possible downside of someone being good-looking: “People might think you’re overconfident and find you repulsive. There are some people who are too confident of their good looks, so they end up being quite proud.”

Guo Liang opined that men hardly feel jealous of their peers because of looks. Benjamin agreed with him, saying that they would hold said colleagues in high regards instead of feeling jealous.

“I remember watching dramas when I was younger and I really revered James Lye. I wanted to grow up and be like him," revealed Ben.

Hong Ling, on the other hand, shared that girls have more tendency to feel jealous of their good-looking friends.

She laughed: “I especially dislike girls who appear weak. I don’t like it if they look that way. I’m not sure if it’s jealousy or if it’s because I don’t like that type [of girls].”

“That’s also why I don’t think I’m very well liked because a lot of people think the way I talk and appear is too fierce,” she added.

The group then talked about how good-looking people in school would have less good-looking friends who just tag along with them.

“I used to be that [not good-looking person],” admitted Benjamin. “I didn’t have many friends in school so I happened to make friends with those who sat near me in class. In the end, I became their follower and had to help them do things like buy drinks. They didn’t bully me, but I was very willing to help them because I [didn’t think I looked good] and not many people would want to be my friend.”

Benjamin shared that his appearance has changed a lot since his schooling days. So much so that he was once asked if he had plastic surgery done.

“My plastic surgery centre was actually the army. When we serve the army, we have to sleep early, wake up early and drink plenty of water,” he said.

Naturally, Zoe was curious about how Benjamin used to look like pre-army and asked if he had any pictures to show them.

The actor then whipped out his phone, while sharing that he used to be overweight in primary four. He was placed in the TAF club and was only allowed to have an apple for recess every day.

“Sometimes, I even had to go to school early to jog. I think I was about 80 kg in primary four and five,” he said.

After his glow up, Benjamin shared he was treated differently.

“You get better treatment. Like when buying economic rice, the auntie thought I looked cute, so she would gave me [extra portions]. I also received a rebate when I bought my car. [The salesperson] paid for my road tax,”  he said, before adding that the salesperson was an older lady.

Guo Liang was curious about the benefits Hong Ling has gotten because of her beauty.

“Actually I’m not sure if it’s because I look good or because I’m a celeb. There are many perks to being a celeb too,” she said.

“But you were already pretty before entering showbiz. It’s not like you never encountered anyone then,” probed Guo Liang.

“I used to be very shy leh. When I was young, I was so shy that if someone told my parents “Eh, your daughter looks so pretty”, my face would immediately turn sour. I didn’t like people saying I was pretty,” said Hong Ling, confusing everyone.

She explained: “Maybe too many people were saying the same thing, I’m not sure why. I would just be angry. Perhaps it was because I found it annoying, and I didn’t like interacting with others. I would hide behind my dad if we ran into anyone, because I didn’t like talking to others. Maybe they found me cute and wanted to talk to me, but I really disliked it.”

Zoe then asked the younger stars this question: “Can you enter showbiz only if you’re good looking?”

“I think it makes entering showbiz easier,” said Benjamin.

Hong Ling agreed, saying: “I think they may look at your appearance first. If you don’t stand out, maybe you have to spend longer [working at it], unless you have a special talent or are very good at acting.”

“When we try out for roles, the first thing people consider is our looks. They then decide if we look suitable for the role before looking at our skills. So I think looks are important in showbiz. Those who don’t make an impact with their appearances can also depend on the way they are styled, but I think directors and producers ultimately look at appearances first,” added Benjamin.

“So what do you think about people in showbiz doing plastic surgery?” asked Guo Liang.

“I think it’s okay if plastic surgery helps with your self confidence," said Hong Ling. "But I feel like for a lot of people, it doesn’t solve the root issue, which is their lack of confidence. I have a friend who had surgery on her nose four times. The problem is that she doesn’t have confidence, so plastic surgery won’t help her with that at all. The thing that needs to change is her mentality first."

As for Zoe, she said she supports those who want to have plastic surgery. 

"In the past I used to be against it, but after watching a Korean variety show, where they helped a “sad-looking” person completely change their appearance, I realised that plastic surgery can help people raise their self-confidence,” she added.

Hong Ling then talked about how she lost confidence in her looks after joining showbiz.

“I think I look okay, but after joining showbiz, I got a lot of criticism for my looks. Some people said my nose bridge is too high, because I have a bone here [that is very high], so I was asked if I ever considered shaving it down. In the past people used to have nose jobs to make their nose bridge higher. I have a nose bridge but why are people now asking me to shave it down?!” she exclaimed.

She continued: “They also said my face is too square. I really considered shaving my [jawline] and I was really so dismayed. I called my good friend, who is my make-up artist, and he told me that I would look like any other influencer if I decided to shave my jawline. So I listened to his advice. As I grew older, I'm thankful that I didn’t go ahead with the surgery.”

Benjamin could relate to Hong Ling, agreeing that joining showbiz makes one lose confidence in their looks.

“People say that I look too boyish, and I won’t be able to carry mature roles. Which is true lah, I look more boyish. But if I was not an actor, people would envy me, because I still look [young] at 30 years old. I was very bothered by it for a period of time, I even asked my friend if I could do anything to look older,” said Benjamin with a laugh.

Guo Liang asked Zoe if she has ever lost confidence because of comments about her looks.

“Of course there will be people who stand out more than you, but I feel that you have to be okay with [your own looks],” said Zoe.

She brought up her 1988 Star Search mates as an example, saying: “My figure wasn't as good as Aileen [Tan]'s  and I’m not as tall as Jazreel [Low]. If you talk about temperament, Jazreel beats the rest of us. But when we stand together, we all have our own special traits. It’s not that one person is especially prettier than the other. The most important thing is to love ourselves and not compare ourselves to others,” shared Ah Jie.

Photos: meWATCH

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