Xin Zhilei has recently slammed those who used her recent win at the Venice Film Festival as a way to disparage another actress.
The whole issue sparked after some netizens dug an old comment made by Zhang Ziyi, who once criticised Xin Zhilei’s performance in the drama “Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace” during the acting reality show “I Am the Actor” a few years back, saying her portrayal of Noble Consort Jia lacked depth.
Xin Zhilei was eliminated from the show as a result.
Some netizens now feel that, since Zhang Ziyi never won awards at the three major festivals of Cannes, Venice or Berlin, while Xin Zhilei became the third Chinese actress to win Best Actress in Venice after Gong Li and Deannie Ip, Xin Zhilei’s achievement was a “slap to Zhang’s face.”
In response to the comments, Xin Zhilei said, “Reading those kinds of comments makes me really sad. A healthy industry ecosystem should be about shared progress. Everyone is shining through their own efforts. Why can’t we celebrate together?”
She also said she received a lot of congratulatory messages from fellow actresses, denying that there are any kind of animosity.
(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, Zhang Ziyi Fanpage IG)