Actress fires back at criticism of her dress in video

Chinese actress Li Bingbing wears a deep V-neck blouse in the short video on Douyin, China's version of TikTok [SHINE]
Chinese actress Li Bingbing wears a deep V-neck blouse in the short video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok [SHINE]
SHINE | 26-Dec-2021 | By Wang Qingchu

Renowned Chinese actress Li Bingbing said she would take legal action against a person who filed a malicious report about her videos to Douyin, Chinese version of TikTok, and accused her of wearing a dress that was too revealing. A Douyin user surnamed Ma reported to the popular short-video platform on December 16 that Li’s deep V-neck blouse she wore in the short video was “too revealing and indecent and could project a negative impact on children.”

Douyin accepted his complaint, replying that day that the video did violate rules and was subject to “punishment,” without elaborating what that “punishment” was to be. Li’s studio said yesterday that after opening her account on Douyin, she posted two videos after they were reviewed and cleared of any violations by the platform. The two videos are still on the site and can be viewed normally. Her studio has collected evidence of the informant’s insulting and defamatory acts and will hold him legally responsible.

Ma, who claimed to be a pediatrician, said he was worried that as a public figure, her overly revealing dress could negatively impact young people.

Ma said he was not biased against Li. On the contrary, he is a fan and has watched several of her movies and TV dramas. The report caused widespread discussion online with netizens questioning Douyin’s response to the complaint and its review process, as most of them considered Li’s clothing to be elegant and charming and her videos humorous and whimsical.

According to a guideline on the review of short videos released by the China Netcasting Services Association, there shall be no display of male and female genitalia, or the body cannot be only covered with limbs or with very little covering or excessively revealing clothing in short videos.

Li’s dress in the video clearly didn’t fit into that category.

Li’s first time in an English-language film was Wayne Wang’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” in 2010, adapted from Lisa See’s 2005 novel of the same title. She starred in “Resident Evil: Retribution,” playing Ada Wong in 2011.

In 2014, Li featured in “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” the fourth installment of the film franchise. In 2016, Li joined the cast of “Meg,” an American shark film.