Wu Jing, whose roles in the 'Wolf Warrior' and 'The Battle at Lake Changjin' series helped establish his image as a 'Chinese tough guy,' has recently seen his patriotic hero aura suddenly disappear. Not only was the film 'Goodbye, Bad Guy,' in which he served as producer and made a cameo, pulled from theaters after only six days with box office earnings of just 267,000 RMB (about 158,000 MYR), but the internet has also been flooded with ridicule and calls for boycotts against him, even giving him the nickname—'Fox Jing'.
Recently, Wu Jing has not only become a target of widespread mockery and even online mobbing, but movies he invested in and made cameo appearances are also being collectively boycotted by the public. Lately, the internet has been filled with spoof videos and memes about Wu Jing. In particular, some boastful comments he made in earlier interviews have been dug up by netizens for secondary creation. When Wu Jing, in his capacity as 'Propaganda Committee Member,' used Weibo to call on fans to watch the film, the comments section not only failed to show the expected support, but was flooded with ridicule and mockery. This stands in stark contrast to his previous image as a 'guarantee of box office success' and even left Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of Global Times, puzzled.
Recently, Hu Xijin wrote on Weibo, 'Wu Jing's public persona seems to have suddenly collapsed, with people online mocking him, imitating things he's said, and satirically using his catchphrases. But after looking carefully at those videos and posts, Lao Hu feels Wu Jing hasn't made any major mistakes.' Hu Xijin continued, 'It's true that the current situation is different from the time when 'Wolf Warrior 2' was a phenomenon. Many young people now are struggling to find jobs and face a lot of pressure in life, which has somewhat distracted from the passion that once coalesced around the 'Wolf Warrior Spirit.' But to say that patriotic heroism is obsolete and is ebbing in our society is, I feel, an exaggeration.'
Hu Xijin, on the one hand, comforted Wu Jing by saying 'it doesn't hurt to be more magnanimous' and not to take the mockery of some people too seriously. On the other hand, he also called on netizens, saying that if they go too far when Wu Jing hasn't done anything wrong, 'it would be unfair.'
News source: United Daily News