Zhang Ziyi and Yang Mi recently found themselves having to clarify their “cake moment”, following accusations made by Zanilia Zhao’s fans that the two were excluding their co-star (Zanilia) in their friendship.
The whole issue sparked last week, when Yang Mi posted a photo of a cake on social media, which was decorated with corn and wheat kernels. Zhang Ziyi immediately took to the comments and posted, “Cake! Reminds me of our cake. Let’s have a cake gathering in Shanghai!” to which Yang Mi responded, “Absolutely!”
The casual exchange had netizens noting that the two seemed to be good friends with one another, but somehow Zanilia was not added to the conversation, despite being one of the three important female stars in the same movie.
At the film’s Shanghai International Film Festival premiere, Zhang Ziyi and Yang Mi explained the “Shanghai Cake Gathering” in detail, saying that the idea came from their characters in the film, Zhan Zhou (Zhang Ziyi) and Wang Xumei (Yang Mi), who share a deep mutual appreciation. In the story, she said, Wang Xumei gives Zhan Zhou a taste of something “sweet”.
“This reflects the two women supporting each other during their most difficult moments,” said Yang Mi, adding that the comment about a “cake gathering” was purely a promotional move and that they had no intention of excluding anyone.
As for Zanilia’s absence from the festival, it was revealed that the actress had gone to New York to attend the Tribeca Film Festival where her movie, “What a Wonderful World” was screened.
(Photo Source: Zhang Ziyi Weibo, Zanilia Weibo, SINA)