Rebecca Lim Accepts Merchant's Apology, Suspends Collaboration; Qi Yuwu Tears Up Defending His Wife

Singaporean artist Rebecca Lim has been livestreaming for almost two years now. She was originally scheduled to host a TikTok livestream sales event in Guangzhou on Wednesday (June 17), but in the end, the livestream was cancelled at the last minute due to the merchant's disrespect. Afterwards, encouraged by her husband Qi Yuwu, Rebecca went live herself to explain the situation. At one emotional moment, she was moved to tears. Near the end of her livestream, Qi Yuwu appeared to support his wife, and was so heartbroken that his eyes also brimmed with tears. When he heard Rebecca say that she always treats setbacks as a form of growth, he asked her, distressed: “Why do you have to keep putting yourself through this kind of trial? This ordeal is unnecessary.”

Rebecca, who is in Guangzhou, admitted during a phone interview on Saturday (June 20) that after so many years in the industry, this was not the first time something unsatisfactory had happened. She chose to speak up this time for a reason. “First, I had already announced the livestream, so cancelling it suddenly required an explanation. If I just cancelled the livestream and didn’t explain, I feel that would be irresponsible.” She also mentioned that many people tend to endure in silence when disrespected at work. “I believe a lot of people will relate, but the boundaries have to be set by ourselves. That's also why I decided to share the whole matter publicly.”

Rebecca explained that she has never once cancelled a livestream, and that this was not done on impulse. The brand had repeatedly shown disrespectful attitudes, so she felt responsible to protect her team. She revealed that from the first online video meeting, she sensed something was off. To be well-prepared, she and her team arrived in Guangzhou early. During the first in-person meeting at the brand’s office, the other party again made her feel disrespected.

In order to start the livestream on time, Rebecca and her team had already communicated with the brand that network tests, lighting adjustments and product displays needed to be ready in advance. However, when she arrived at the scene, the founder was nowhere to be seen and the equipment was not set up. She said her team was told to wait in the founder's office, during which she asked the other party not to smoke. “But the other person said, ‘This is my office.’ At that moment, all of us were stunned, as if I was intruding on his territory.”

Rebecca felt that the brand’s attitude and actions had crossed her boundary and she immediately walked out of the office. She said frankly that if she continued the livestream under such circumstances, “that would be a sign I no longer respect myself.” “At the time, I truly felt it was too much. When I cancelled the livestream at 7 pm, the brand’s founder was on site. Even when I left, he was still there, but I didn’t say anything more to him. My team kept communicating with him, but afterward he didn’t make any further remarks in our group chat.”

In fact, cancelling the livestream at the last minute cost Rebecca quite a lot. She explained that besides her team’s airfare and accommodation, they had already filmed and edited promotional videos before the livestream. She and her team had put in time, effort, and money. She admitted: “Cancelling was a loss for me, so there’s no reason I would make such a decision out of impulse or emotion.” As for whether she would have to pay compensation for the last-minute cancellation, she responded: “Actually, this is my first time to cancel last minute, so I really don’t know yet.”

The next day, two bosses from the group the brand belongs to hurried from Sichuan and Shenzhen to Guangzhou to personally visit Rebecca at her hotel and apologize. To show their sincerity, they brought flowers, rice dumplings, black truffles, and designer handbags.

Rebecca said: “Yesterday (the 19th) just happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival. I only accepted the rice dumplings and returned all the others. I received their apology and the apology letter; that's all I needed. Moreover, they did give me an explanation and seriously reviewed the incident with my team. As far as I'm concerned, it's over now.” As for whether she will work with the brand on future livestreams, she replied: “I will suspend collaboration with them for now.”

Rebecca continued that in the past, she’d often faced situations in the entertainment industry where her boundaries were crossed, but would tell herself “never mind” and let it go. However, now with experience and age, she doesn’t want to persistently tolerate things. “We are all adults; if I keep saying ‘never mind,’ I will just keep getting bullied. Some people only bully those who are kind.” She also educates her child with correct values, especially when entering society in the future, to set clear personal boundaries.

She noted that while some people might find celebrities difficult to work with, in reality, artists are well aware of the importance of cooperation. As an actor filming with a big team, cooperation is required. She said: “Actors are even more cooperative than most people. Many think celebrities throw their weight around, but those who really do that are rarely the actual celebrities themselves; that's the feedback I've gotten from some brands.”

When a reporter mentioned Qi Yuwu's appearance on her livestream as her strongest support, Rebecca said her husband has always been her “anchor.”

Qi Yuwu, in an interview with Zaobao, said that that day he was having dinner with his college classmates when he suddenly received a call from his wife saying she didn’t want to do the livestream and wanted to leave, but felt unsure whether she was doing the right thing. Knowing a bit about the previous situation with the merchant, he supported his wife in walking away. He admitted he was quite surprised: “Because Rebecca has a high tolerance—she’s definitely not someone who acts on impulse.”

Qi Yuwu pointed out that his wife’s decision meant she had to bear losses and could potentially affect her personal reputation. “After all, the promotional videos were already released. Canceling all of a sudden might look unprofessional to outsiders. But even faced with that, she still chose to cancel, which shows just how disrespectful the other party was.” He also mentioned that Rebecca always fills pages with notes and does her homework before every livestream—work behind the scenes that most people never see.

Later, as Rebecca explained the situation live, Qi Yuwu was visibly distressed seeing her like that. He said, “I was thinking, should I hand her a tissue or not? I really wanted to comfort her but also felt this is her work, something she must face on her own.”

It wasn’t until Rebecca was almost done streaming that Qi appeared on camera to console his wife. He said frankly that his eyes welled up—not only from feeling sorry for her but also because he was moved by the many supportive comments for Rebecca. “To see her so aggrieved, I was truly pained. And this happened in Guangzhou, my hometown. Every time she visits, I hope she’ll like this city, but I never expected something like that to happen that night.”

However, Qi Yuwu emphasized that this was an extremely rare and isolated incident. As for some netizens blaming the matter on “Chinese people’s problems,” he said Chinese people are in fact extremely courteous, and his wife’s experience can't represent China’s hospitality. He advised everyone not to overgeneralize. Rebecca also urged netizens not to lump everyone together: “Not all Chinese merchants are like this. It’s not fair to say that, and that’s not the message I want to convey. Let’s treat each incident on its own—don’t overgeneralize.”