Zong Zijie Was Told He “Looks Like A Pig” After He Put On 7kg For His New Drama
Out of all the “nasty comments” he received, what aggrieved him most were the ones that came from people he knew.
In a case of dramatic irony, an actor starring in a drama centered on the issue of mental health gained weight to play someone battling depression, only to find himself affected by fat-shaming in real life.
In a way, Zong Zijie has become an ideal advocate for the issue the show champions — the importance of mental well-being.
The Noontalk Media artiste is one of those stars who is known for his super ripped physique, so when he gained 7kg for Truths About Us, it definitely took him out of his comfort zone.
In the Temasek Foundation-commissioned drama, which also stars Ya Hui and Ayden Sng, Zijie’s character Siyang spirals into depression after being overwhelmed by relationship issues, but in real life, the 26-year-old had his struggles as well.
Describing Siyang as someone who feels “quite inferior”, Zijie told 8world that the director didn’t want him to look too “robust” on screen, so he had to get rid of his buff bod.
Bye bye abs
“Since I only had one or two months to prepare before I started filming, it was pretty impossible for me to lose all my muscle mass to look skinny, so I went with the approach of putting on weight instead to look out of shape,” he later explained in a WhatsApp interview with 8days.sg.
“I didn’t have a goal weight,” he added. “The goal was to look as unfit as I can, and I also wanted to make sure that I would feel insecure for the role.”
According to Zijie, who is 1.76m tall, he tipped the scales at 73kg after getting 7kg heavier by bingeing on food that’s high in oil and sugar, as well as drinking beer to “really bloat [himself] up”.
He also stopped exercising completely, but his inactivity and unhealthy diet left him feeling “horrible for that period of time”.
Zijie in Truths About Us
Adding literal insult to injury was the hurtful unsolicited remarks he received about his looks — and they didn’t just come from notoriously critical netizens.
“There were actually quite a few nasty comments, but the ones that affected me the most were from people that I know,” he shared. “The most unforgettable one was someone telling my boss [Dasmond Koh] that I look like a pig!”
Zijie himself isn’t sure who the comment came from as Dasmond never outed the ‘culprit’.
Needless to say, all this dealt a blow to Zijie’s confidence. “I felt lazy and unmotivated in everything I did, but it really did help me when it came to the role,” he said.
To be honest, he doesn’t even look that bad
Now that filming for Truths About Us is over, Zijie is slowly getting back into shape, although he has yet to lose all the weight he put on.
“I’ve been really harsh on myself for the past few years when it comes to my physique so this time, I’m taking it slow and really trying to enjoy the process,” he said. “Right now I’m just working out constantly and eating according to my macros.”
“At this moment, my mental health comes before my physical [appearance] for sure.”
Friendly reminder that being happy is important
Truths About Us airs Tuesdays, 8pm on Ch 8.
It is also available on demand for free on meWATCH.
Watch the first episode of Truths About Us below:
Photos: Zong Zijie/Instagram, Noontalk Media/Instagram, Mediacorp, meWATCH
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