All does not look well for these Chinese actress right now. Jing Tian, known for her roles in Hollywood movies like Pacific Rim: Uprising, Kong: Skull Island, and The Great Wall, has been slapped with a hefty 1 Million fine. The reason will baffle you. The Chinese authorities claim Jing Tian endorsed a false advertisement. A company claiming to make weight loss candies ran an ad with Jing Tian in it. The Chinese officials are taking down not only this organisation but also actors like Jing Tian who had the misfortune of having any connections with it.
Jing Tian Models For Infinite Free – A Company That Makes ‘Weight Loss’ Candy
You may not know the name but this woman is a huge authority in the Chinese film industry. Her stature in the Chinese movies helped her bag many good roles in Hollywood. Starring opposite stars like Matt Damon in ‘The Great Wall’ and Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson in ‘Kong: Skull Island’ is no easy feat. Jing Tian was at the zenith of her career when this controversy may have sealed her career for good.
She recently modelled for Infinite Free, a Guangzhou based company that sells specially made candies. This company claims that its fruit and vegetable candies aid its consumers in helping in weight loss. The ads made their way to national platforms like Alibaba and JD.com. They have since been pulled out of circulation. The adverts claimed that people could stay in shape by just taking two candies a day.
Guangzhou Administration Fines Jing Tian With $1 Million
The claims made by the company have been proven to be false, by the local authorities and administration. Local regulatory bodies have come forward to penalise the 33 year old actress for spewing lies. As a result, a hefty fine ahs been imposed on Jing Tian, amounting to 7.22 Million Yuan or roughly a little over 1 Million dollars.
According to Fortune, The administration of Guangzhou even followed up to their actions and gave a statement. They warned people from blindly following celebrities and the brands they endorse. And there was also a stern warning to all celebrities who endorse products without doing their proper homework and fooling the public.
How China Is Cracking Down On The Entertainment Industry
In recent times, China has been pretty ruthless with prosecuting actors and celebrities, even taking down powerful billionaires in their quest to bring ‘order’ to society. The entertainment industry has been caught dead centre in the crossfire. The Chinese government is attacking celebs who have reaped millions through the masses’ tendency of ‘idol worshipping’.
The nation banned a major film star – Zhao Wei from its internet. The celeb’s name was literally wiped out of their online databases. Movie stars are getting the brunt of it but cyberspace regulators are sparing no one. Wang Sicong, the son of a Chinese billionaire and an influencer with more than 40 Million followers on Weibo (Chinese counterpart of Twitter), was banned from the platform after questioning China’s COVID policies. The internet is one thing the Chinese authorities fear because no matter how much they try to regulate it, it grows beyond their limits.
Jing Tian Responds To The $1 Million Fine
After being singled out, the Skull Island actor reacted to the fine and gave a full-fledged apology to the Chinese government. She writes on Weibo that she will be careful from now one:
“I hereby offer my solemn apology, for failing to fulfil my obligations to examine the contract during the process of signing and for the negative impact on consumers that trust the related product,” Jing Tian wrote. “I’ll never advertise for any product in this category in future to prevent this from happening again.”
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According to sources, Jing Tian raked in Herculean amounts with by endorsing illegal ads. The total amount she pulled from these ads could be at least 2.6 Million Yuan or higher. That is over $400,000!!
