Sexual harassment under guise of filming: breast-grabbing Chinese bro TV drama removed after backlash against sexist storylines that degrade women
- Chinese TV series is pulled from major streaming sites after backlash over claims it is humiliating to women, ‘vulgar’ and ‘unrealistic’
- The most offensive scene is one where a male character has an actress sit in his lap as he gropes her breast in a restaurant
A Chinese TV drama about the lives of four inner-city men has been pulled from online streaming sites after heavy criticism of an offensive breast-groping scene and outdated, sexist storylines that triggered a widespread backlash in China.
The show Gentlemen of Eastern 8th is a 40-episode TV series premiered on two leading video platforms on August 31 and concluded last week. Now the series has been taken offline following a backlash with many saying the series is humiliating to women and is “vulgar” and “unrealistic”.
The show originally aired on Hubei Satellite TV simultaneously, and was rated 2.1 out of 10 by more than 190,000 users on Douban, China’s leading movie review site, the lowest rating for any Chinese TV drama ever.
The drama stars famous Chinese actor Zhang Han, who is also the main producer and screenwriter. Zhang, 37, is best known for his roles in the 2009 romantic drama Meteor Shower 2, and the 2017 box office record-breaking action film Wolf Warrior 2.
The TV drama tells the story of four male friends from their university days who are now into their 30s as they navigate their careers, friendships and romantic lives. It first caused controversy after an episode in which the character played by Zhang groped the breasts of a female character played by actress Wang Xiaochen.
The scene shows while the pair having dinner in a restaurant. Zhang’s character grabs the female character’s breasts as she sits in his lap.